I Tried To Forget You
by sarcasmcocktail
Summary: During her second year at Yale, Rory runs into someone she vaguely remembers from her past. He doesn’t remember much about her either at first, then suddenly it all comes back to him…but her boyfriend doesn’t make things easy. COMPLETE
1. Back To Yale

**Disclaimer:** I only own my ideas and if I add any characters…the rest belong to the genius, Amy Sherman-Palladino

**AN:** This doesn't really have anything to do with the story, but it does have to do with Gilmore Girls. I got Teen Vogue in the mail yesterday and Alexis was on the cover…with Adam Brody. He gets all his credit for the OC, but seeing him with Alexis made me miss him as Dave on GG. Please read and review and if you get a chance read my other stories _History Repeats Itself_ (a trory) and _That Day_ (a one shot lit song fic). Thanks so much.

**Background: **Everything up to Raincoats and Recipes is included in this story. It takes place Rory's first day back at Yale. Lindsey's pregnant and Dean stayed with her keeping what happened between him and Rory a secret. Lorelai helped Rory get over the heartbreak over the summer while working on her own relationship with Luke.

**Summary: **During her second year at Yale, Rory runs into someone she vaguely remembers from her past. He doesn't remember much about her either until he spends a little time with her…but her boyfriend doesn't make things easy for him. (Trory)

Rory and Paris didn't see much of each other the summer after their freshman year. Paris was traveling Europe and Rory was drowning herself in tears after that night with Dean. The only person other than Dean and Rory who knew a thing about it was Lorelai and she swore not to tell a soul…including Luke. Rory still wasn't back to her old self while she was listening to Paris drone on and on about her trip to Europe. Being in the dorm and passing Tanna and Janet in the halls made Rory remember that day before she left and all of the comments made about her not dating all year. This year they weren't in a suite, just a regular dorm room. Those comments the girls made were part of the force driving Rory towards Dean. Maybe if that hadn't happened she wouldn't have slept with Dean. Rory was confused about everything and couldn't wait for classes to start so she'd have something to divert her attention to.

"Rory are you listening to me?"

"Huh? What? Oh yea, Paris…continue."

"What's going on with you?"

"Nothing."

Paris didn't believe her friend but didn't want to pry. She couldn't shake the feeling that Rory was hiding something big, something life changing. Just then she thought of the perfect solution to get Rory's mind off whatever it was on…a party. Yale had parties every night but the first night there had to be something big going on. When Paris first suggested it Rory seemed to be very against it, but after a little persuasion she agreed to go. Right as Rory was agreeing, Lorelai walked in with coffee and overheard the end of a conversation. She seemed to be very agreeing on Paris and Rory going to a party – although Lorelai didn't want to see Rory as a typical college student, she knew that it was something that would clear her mind. The three of them drank their coffee and finished setting up everything in their room. Around 7:30 Lorelai kissed Rory goodbye and headed back to Stars Hollow for her date with Luke.

Paris went through her own and Rory's clothes to find something perfect for a party. She'd changed since high school where she didn't care very much about clothes, Rory noticed this too. They remembered the night when Paris had a date and went to Rory's house for help getting ready.

"You only had one lipstick," Rory laughed.

"And it wasn't even a color," Paris added.

The two remembered that night and broke out in laughter; it was the first time in a while Rory found herself not thinking of Dean. They finally picked out what they were going to wear. Rory had a black spaghetti strap dress that complimented her well and ended right above her knee. Paris on the other hand preferred a peach color of the same style dress. Both girls applied a modest amount of make up and left their dorm to find the biggest party on campus.

Rory brought a book with her knowing that if she decided she really didn't want to be there, she could find a corner and read a book. Paris told Rory to just let loose and have some fun, forget the book. There was plenty of time for reading but this was the time to party. When they arrived at the party, Paris headed straight to the keg. Apparently during her summer in Europe she'd done a lot of drinking and thought she could handle her alcohol. After losing sight of her friend, Rory wandered around looking for another familiar face. She saw people she recognized from her classes but no one she really associated with. One blonde guy caught her attention, there was something familiar about him but she couldn't tell what it was. He was surrounded by girls all grinding close to him looking slightly inebriated.

For the first hour, Rory socialized a little realizing that no one would remember her in the morning. She did meet one guy who seemed to be the only person other than her who was sober. His name was Brian Andrews and he was a political science major who had also brought a book to the party. The two talked until Paris walked over already a little tipsy telling Rory to lighten up and have some fun. She then proceeded to hit on Brian who took that opportunity to walk away. Paris looked at Rory confused as to why Brian walked away then left to get another beer.

For the first time that night, Rory started thinking about Dean and how he was home with a pregnant Lindsey. She remembered how that night Dean told her that everything was going badly and that there wasn't much of a marriage. Everything got patched up as soon as Lindsey was pregnant and Rory wasn't the type to ruin a marriage for her own personal benefit. Brian seemed like a good guy, maybe the type to make Dean disappear to Rory. Why did Paris have to drink and ruin it? Rory considered finding Brian again, but worried about Paris coming over to her again. Her thoughts were interrupted when Brian came back to her.

"Hey, sorry about before – your friend was just…"

"I know."

Rory noticed the book in Brian's hands, _Oliver Twist_, a book that reminded her of another guy in her past. She decided to look past that and just have a normal conversation with Brian. They discussed their schedules which led to Rory realizing that Brian was a junior. He told her information on her professors and discussed the classes with her. Rory hadn't had such an intellectually stimulating conversation with a guy in so long…probably since Jess. Time started to fly by as Rory and Brian just sat in a corner of the party talking and cracking jokes about every person at the party. They stood up and Brian offered to walk Rory back to her room, she willingly agreed.

When they arrived at her room, a drunken Paris was stumbling to the door. Brian quickly said goodbye to Rory and headed back to his room. She couldn't help but smile over the guy that she spent all that time with. Her thoughts were once again interrupted by Paris who wanted to get into the room but was having problems with her key. Rory opened the door and watched Paris fall into her bed and within seconds being in a dead sleep. Rory looked over at her roommate and thought about the nights that both of them had. While Paris was off with the beer and probably dancing with more guys than she'd ever remember, Rory was meeting someone she thought could be someone in her life. Brian was so many things Rory had been looking for and she hoped everything would work out for the best.

The next morning Paris woke up with a migraine she couldn't believe and realized that she was still wreaking of beer. Rory was still sleeping, so Paris left the room to shower and tried to get rid of her hang over. After her shower, Paris decided that she needed coffee and she wouldn't dare go back to the room without one for Rory. The smell of the coffee awakened Rory who was in the middle of a dream about Brian. Paris held the coffee over Rory's head as she swatted at it like a cat for a catnip toy. After a few minutes of teasing, Paris gave in and Rory received her addiction.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have a coffee problem?"

"Luke. He says I got it from my mom."

The girls laughed over how obvious the latter of Rory's statement was then continued to discuss the wonders of coffee. Paris' headache was finally starting to go away, but she still decided to lie down and relax while Rory went to take her shower.

On her way back to her room, Rory ran into Brian in the hall. He asked if he could take her out that night and of course she agreed. He was going to pick her up at 6 and take her to dinner; they said they'd figure anything else out that night. Rory walked the rest of the way back to her room in a complete daze. She had a very good feeling about Brian. Paris asked for a reason behind the good mood and when Rory explained she didn't remember any guy from the night before. She remembered dancing and beer, that was about it.

A little before 6, Rory started getting ready for her date and Paris left to find another party. Paris Geller, a party girl, who would've ever thought that was possible? If she started to like the taste of beer too much, Rory knew she'd have to stop her. Brian arrived at exactly 6:00 and Rory wasn't completely ready so she asked him to come inside and sit down for a minute. Her dorm room wasn't very big compared to the suite she had the year before – but she liked the atmosphere better. There weren't too many people all fighting over everything…it was just her and Paris. About 5 minutes later, Rory was ready to go and Brian led her out to his car.

They went to a little Italian café right outside New Haven. Throughout dinner the conversation ranged from politics to Paris and everything in between. Rory really enjoyed Brian's company and hoped that he felt the same about her. After dinner they decided to go see a movie at the local theater. Since Brian had paid for dinner, Rory wanted to pay for the movie but he was old fashioned and wouldn't let her. The movie was enjoyable and afterwards the two discussed it with laughter.

Rory didn't want the night to end; she had an amazing time with this guy. It was only the first date though so she didn't want to get her hopes up. Paris told her earlier that she was glowing while getting ready to go out. Brian walked Rory back to her room and leaned in to kiss her good night. Just before their lips touched she heard a recognizable voice sounding quite intoxicated. Paris had gotten drunk again and this time that familiar blonde was carrying her back to the room.

"Paris Gellar, I've known you since diapers and I never thought of you as the type to get wasted at a party."

Brian didn't seem to like Paris very much because she kept interrupting him with Rory. Since she wasn't going to be very fun when she got to the room, he gave Rory a sweet, gentle kiss and went back to his room. Rory opened the door to her room as the blonde carried Paris to her bed. She couldn't tell what it was about this guy, but he looked very, very familiar. Maybe she'd just seen him around last year? That didn't seem like the reason, but Rory accepted it because she was in too good of a mood to think more into it.

Paris wouldn't let go of the guy who was tucking her into bed. She was more gone than the night before.

"Rory!" she said slurring the syllables.

"Yes, Paris?"

"Do you remember Tristan?"

The name repeated in Rory's head – she couldn't place where she knew him from. Paris was too drunk to make any sense and Tristan had left the room already. There wouldn't be much help figuring anything out from Paris, so Rory knew she'd have to wait until morning. _Tristan_ she thought, wondering where she knew him from. After a while she realized that Paris had gotten drunk two nights in a row. The Paris from Chilton wouldn't even think of doing anything like that…_people really change_.

Back in his room Tristan DuGrey tried to remember Paris's roommate. He and Paris had known each other since kindergarten, but he knew her roommate too. There was something very familiar about that girl. Paris had slurred her name so badly that Tristan could barely understand it. He had fallen asleep deep in thought about how weird it was to see Paris drunk and wondering about her roommate.


	2. I Think I Knew You

**AN:** Thanks so much for the reviews…this story is getting such better feedback than my last one. Smile1 – thanks for reviewing all three of my stories with such great comments. Everyone else, I'm sorry for not mentioning names but thank you just as much.

Tristan woke up the next morning with a perplexed look on his face. His roommate, Alex, asked him what was on his mind, but Tristan wasn't exactly sure. He had a dream about his days at Chilton with everything blurry. Tristan remembered being the King of Chilton, everything else just meshed together during the long days of military school. Military school changed everything about him, except his love for girls. On the weekends him and some friends would sneak out and go to parties thrown by kids at the local high schools. As long as the officers didn't find out, he could continue to meet the locals and using the DuGrey charm to get whatever girl he wanted. None of those girls were a challenge to him; he couldn't remember a girl that ever was one. Tristan had an ego but there hadn't been anyone to burst it…at least none he could remember.

For some reason he couldn't get his mind off Paris's roommate. Why was she so damn familiar? He had to know her from somewhere…perhaps it was some social event that he had been dragged to? But if she was one of those Hartford socialites he would've known her as long as he'd known Paris. The girl seemed to be a good friend of Paris's and she didn't have any of those in high school except for Madeline and Louise so it had to be someone she met at Yale. There had to be a reason Tristan couldn't get his mind off it and Paris would be the only one to answer his questions.

Once again, Rory woke up to deal with a hung over Paris. She strongly hoped that it wasn't going to become routine for Paris to get that drunk. Rory decided to shower and after she was dressed she went to get coffee…for her and Paris. Upon returning to the room, Rory saw Paris stumbling down the hall to the bathroom. Rory waited in the room with the coffee forcing herself not to drink it because Paris needed the elixir of life more than she did.

On her way back to the room, Paris ran into Tristan who she could tell was looking for her. He saw that she wasn't exactly in her greatest form and offered to help her with the hangover. She responded that she could deal with it herself and walked away completely ignoring the fact that Tristan had something else to ask her. He simply watched her stumble back to her dorm room. He contemplated following her then realized she didn't remember running into him the night before or him carrying her back to her room. There were so many things to relearn about his childhood friend; they'd seen each other at social functions but otherwise there was no communication since he'd left Chilton.

"Paris, please tell me you're not going to make a habit out of this?" Rory greeted her.

"I'm tired of being boring, old Paris. I want to spice my life up a little."

"Coming from the girl who blamed her rejection from Harvard on sex then later dated a professor."

"This hangover thing isn't working too well for me, so getting drunk will be pushed back on the list…happy?"

"Very."

Rory hoped Paris was being honest with her and not just saying what she wanted to hear. Once the headache started to go away, Paris asked Rory about her date with Brian. Not a single detail was left out from Brian taking her hand leaving the dorm to the kiss goodnight, which Paris apologized for ruining. Paris couldn't deny that she was jealous that Rory found such a great guy so quickly, but she was too drunk to really do anything.

It suddenly clicked in Paris's head that Tristan DuGrey was at Yale. She'd run into him at the party on Friday night and again the night before and just now in the hall…but it didn't really set in. The guy that stole her heart from 6th grade until he left for military school was now there with her. She'd changed so much in the past few years that she was pretty sure she could get him on a date. _Tristan DuGrey…here…at Yale._ Brian showed up at the door to take Rory for coffee, so Paris took the opportunity to go find Tristan.

Paris walked by the coffee shop on campus to see her roommate sitting with Brian, smiling and laughing. Rory deserved to be happy after all the problems she had with guys in the past. Lost in her thoughts, she dropped a book she was carrying. Before she had a chance to pick it up, it was being handed to her by none other than Tristan.

"Thanks."

"No problem, I wanted to talk to you anyway."

"Really…about what?"

"Your roommate…there's something so familiar about her, but I can't place it. Has she been at any of those social functions our parents always drag us to?"

Paris couldn't believe her ears…Tristan didn't remember Rory. The way the two of them bantered in Chilton, his crush on her was so obvious. Rory was always the only girl that didn't succumb to Tristan's charms and now he couldn't even remember who she was. Then she realized that once again Rory was going to come between her and Tristan; he didn't want to talk to her, he wanted to know who Rory was.

Rory was having a great time just sitting and drinking coffee with Brian. He was unlike any other guy she dated and she even thought that this guy could get rid of the pain in her heart. Jess had destroyed her the day he left, she felt something for him that she'd never felt before – but it was over. Then there was Dean…the safe guy the first time around, but the mistake the second. Rory couldn't deny that she was afraid to put her heart out there again, but Brian seemed different.

The two sat there, both on their second cups of coffee (already a plus in the Gilmore book) just talking. Of course it wasn't all intellectual conversation, they were 19 after all. When the topic came to sex, Rory was a little awkward but tried to hide it. Brian could tell there was something that Rory didn't want to tell and changed the subject. She had only known Brian for two days and wasn't ready to trust him with what happened between her and Dean. She had a feeling that one day she would open up to Brian, he just seemed so great.

Something compelled Rory to look outside where she saw Paris talking to that guy who carried her into the room last night. Rory still couldn't help the feeling she knew him from somewhere, but she had no clue where. Brian noticed that Rory's attention was drifting and that she suddenly spaced out.

"Earth to Rory…" Brian said, laughing.

"Sorry, Brian, I just spaced out for a minute."

"Is something bugging you?"

"No, it's just that guy with my roommate…he seems so familiar, but I don't know why."

Brian told Rory that it was probably someone she's seen before and doesn't remember. If she didn't remember him, he wasn't worth remembering. Brian was right and Rory decided that she wasn't going to give this guy a second thought. The rest of the coffee date went extremely well and this time when Brian walked Rory back to her room he got what he wanted. He took her hand by her door and leaned in to gently kiss her; he then licked her lips asking for entry which she granted. The kiss was broken and Brian whispered a goodbye to a now floating Rory.

Paris had been sitting in the room with Tristan catching up on the past few years. Suddenly her feelings for him from high school were coming back even though she could tell he was still the same sex craved Tristan. In the back of her mind she didn't want Tristan to remember Rory because she was what kept them apart. Tristan had it bad for Rory in high school and although he never admitted it, everyone knew.

Rory walked into the room in a complete daze not noticing Paris or the blonde boy next to her and collapsed onto her bed.

"What has you so smiley?" Paris asked her roommate who was starting to become less oblivious.

"I just had an amazing date…and we have company?"

"Rory, this is Tristan, he went to Chilton with us…remember?"

Both Rory and Tristan had puzzled looks on their faces. There was definitely something about that name that stuck in Tristan's head, but after repeating it nothing came up. Paris was more happy than she let on about them not remember each other…it meant she still had a chance with Tristan. Besides Rory had a boyfriend, not that it stopped Tristan before. When Rory was with Dean, Tristan still tried his hardest to get under her skin.

Tristan gave Paris a kiss on the cheek and left the girls' room. Rory began to ask Paris questions about Tristan which she responded to vaguely. Nothing seemed to jog Rory's memory about him, but she continued to think about it. Paris admitted that she'd always had a thing for Tristan but never knew why and thought that she would have her chance. Rory wished her friend luck before starting to get ready for classes the next day.

Alex noticed that Tristan was still in the same daze as the night before. He asked about the girl and if Tristan found anything out and Tristan responded that they went to high school together. There had to be something significant about their relationship – he knew there had to be. He thought back to his days in Chilton but didn't remember Rory. Throughout military school he tried to get rid of a lot of bad memories and the old Tristan. While the memories were gone, his personality stayed completely in tact. It was probably because of the girls falling at his feet, they seemed to have an effect on a guy's ego.

Rory realized that she hadn't told Lorelai about Brian because she'd been so busy unpacking and taking care of Paris, so she decided to pick up the phone.

"Mom."

"Rory? Rory, is that you? I don't quite recognize your voice it's been so long."

"If Luke depriving you of coffee again?"

"Yes, he's a very mean, mean man."

Rory heard Luke in the background telling Lorelai that she should not be drinking more than five cups of coffee in a day. Ever since the two started dating their little arguments ended in Luke telling Lorelai she would probably taste like coffee for the rest of her life and Lorelai telling him to taste. Rory usually walked away when it got to that – she was close to her mother, but not close enough to watch her make out with the coffee provider.

"I met a guy."

"Wow, I was not expecting that. Tell mommy all the details."

"His name is Brian, he's a junior, and he's majoring in political science. I met him at that party Friday night then we went out last night and this afternoon he took me to the perfect place."

"Did this place have coffee?"

"Yes it did, and he drank as much as I did."

"I like him already."

Rory continued to talk to her mother about Brian and about the goings on in Stars Hollow. After that phone conversation she realized that there was someone else who would love to know she was moving on…Lane. Lane knew that something happened between Rory and Dean but was never told the details. She knew that Rory would tell her when she was ready even if that took a while. When Rory told Lane about the new guy she met, Lane was very excited for her best friend. The girls then talked about Dave because he called Lane a few days earlier telling her he missed her. Since Lane decided to take a year off of school, she planned to visit Dave in California. Mrs. Kim had started to be okay with Lane's way of life although she would never accept it. Lane always felt Lorelai was more of a mother to her anyway, so she didn't miss the motherly concern from Mrs. Kim.

After hanging up with Lane, Rory continued to get things ready for her classes. Her first class on Monday was at 11, so she could sleep probably until 9:30 and still have time for a shower, coffee, and breakfast. The phone rang and Rory and Paris looked at each other to decide who was going to answer it. From Paris's glare, Rory knew that it was going to be her responsibility. On the other end was Louise Grant, an old friend from Chilton. Rory was never that close to Louise or her sidekick, Madeline, but by senior year she got along well with the two. Paris on the other hand was always close to them but spread away from them through her relationship with Jamie.

Right as Rory was going to ask Louise if she remembered Tristan, Paris grabbed the phone. Louise gushed about Tristan being at Yale and asked if Paris was finally going to make her move. She could tell when she and Madeline ran into Paris and Rory at Spring Break that there was a change in Paris from the girl she'd been in Chilton. Louise asked her friend if Tristan was still crazy about Rory as he'd been in Chilton and Paris responded that they didn't remember each other. Louise couldn't believe it; Tristan DuGrey had forgotten his greatest conquest…the girl he couldn't have. After a little more catching up with Rory and Paris, Louise said that she had to go and the girls hung up the phone.

Tristan was still thinking back to his Chilton days – then it struck him. He remembered Summer breaking up with him at a party Madeline had sophomore year…the only time he'd ever been publicly dissed. Then he'd kissed a girl…the same girl who a year later was playing Juliet to his Romeo when he got shipped off to military school. Paris's roommate…Rory…was his Mary.


	3. It's All Coming Back

**AN:** Wow, I've never gotten such great reviews J thanks so much to everyone who left them. I have a lot of ideas for this story which might lead to _History Repeats Itself_ being put on hold. It might be a while until there's real Troriness, but I promise to make it worthwhile.

Tristan sat in his room and all of the Chilton memories started coming back to him. Of course he didn't remember Rory; she was the first thing he got rid of when he arrived at military school. Rory Gilmore was the only girl who didn't want Tristan and that made her even more the conquest. The problem with that conquest was he fell for her…hard, but she had a boyfriend. Tristan began to wonder about the bagboy who he fought with at the Chilton Formal. Every suppressed memory from the days at Chilton came pouring back into Tristan's mind. He started to think back to his first week in North Carolina, being miserable and angry with his father. The night of the Romeo and Juliet performance, he saw something in Rory's eyes before he left that said maybe she did feel something for him. Maybe she wasn't as ready for him to leave as he thought.

_"I'd kiss you goodbye, but your boyfriend's watching,"_ Tristan remembered saying. Rory didn't respond, she just looked at him – did she want that kiss? _How could I not remember her?_ Then he realized that he didn't want to remember her. He called her Mary, his Mary, because she was so innocent. He pictured her face walking into the room where he and Paris were and still saw that innocent glow. There was a guy in the picture though; boyfriend or not Rory's heart belonged to someone else.

"So, you really like this Brian guy?" Paris asked her roommate.

"Yeah, he's not like any other guy I know. He drinks coffee as much as I do."

"Rory, there's more to life than coffee."

"Tell my mother that."

"Lorelai is a lost cause; we've figured that out already. I think Brian will be good for you; he's not Jess and has no where to run to."

Paris didn't mean to spark bad memories for Rory, but what she said was true. Brian was a Yale student so he couldn't go very far – he'd never appear out of nowhere just to say he loves her. At the same time Brian wasn't "the safe choice" as Dean had been.

"Paris, how do I find out if he wants to be my…"

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah, with Dean it came after the Chilton dance and it was awkward and with Jess, I don't even know. I think it was just assumed there."

They were interrupted by a knock at the door…it was Brian.

"If this continues, I'd say bring it up – you shouldn't have to worry," Paris laughed.

Brian looked at the two girls confused and asked Rory if he could talk to her for a minute.

"Sure," was her simple, yet hopeful response.

Rory and Brian walked into the hallway of her residence hall, but talking didn't seem to work very well there with all the music and noise of the Yale students. Brian took Rory's hand and suggested that they go for a walk around campus. The Yale campus was beautiful although neither Rory nor Brian cared at that moment.

"Rory, I really like you and was wondering if you'd…"

Time seemed to stand still as Brian started the question. Rory felt herself speaking through Brian's mouth – the hesitation, feeling absolutely ridiculous. She wanted to save him from asking, but didn't want to assume anything.

"…be my girlfriend?" he finished.

"I'd love to, Brian."

That was it; Rory had her first boyfriend since Jess left for California. From the beginning of sophomore year until almost graduation, Rory hadn't been single, then after an entire year she found someone who she thought could make her happy. Rory looked up at the 6'1" brunette standing in front of her and smiled. His emerald eyes looked back at her and he squeezed her hand. Rory didn't think anything would bring her down; classes hadn't even started and sophomore year was going so much better than freshman.

Brian escorted Rory to the dining hall for dinner and the two ate together. During their dinner, Paris walked over and asked if she could sit with them. Paris was curious about Brian and wanted to make sure that he stayed with Rory so that she could have her chance with Tristan. This guy seemed good to her after such a short time; Rory couldn't possibly want someone who treated her like crap, even if she does remember him.

Rory wanted to get some rest before the first day of classes so Brian walked her back to her room, kissed her goodbye, and went to his own room. Paris, on the other hand stayed in the dining hall where Tristan walked over to her.

"Hey Paris, I've been thinking and I was wondering if your roommate Rory…"

Paris knew it – Tristan remembered her. He remembered being in love with her. Her mind started working in overdrive thinking of ways to keep Tristan for herself.

"What about Rory?"

"Never mind, I'm still trying to remember her. Are you sure she went to Chilton with us?"

"Yes, she and I weren't friends until senior year though. Rory was the valedictorian."

"I thought you were going to be valedictorian? What happened to the Paris Gellar I always knew?"

"Senior year there were a lot of changes, Rory truly deserves it. I didn't get into Harvard either."

"I'm quite shocked."

Paris had missed Tristan's dry sarcasm in the past few years. It had led to a lot of conflict between the two throughout their lives, but only increased her crush on him. She remembered the night that Lorelai had taken Rory, Madeline, Louise and herself to the Bangles concert, the conversation she had with Rory.

_"Can I ask you a question," Rory asked Paris._

_ "Maybe."_

_ "What could you possibly see in Tristan?"_

Paris remembered all the reasons in her head when Rory asked her that question, but her answer to Rory was simply _"you wouldn't understand."_ Rory thought it was looks alone, but Paris told her there was more to it than that. _"He's not always a jerk," Paris began defensively; "I've known Tristan a really long time, ok? We've been in the same class since kindergarten." Rory looked at Paris who continued, "…and he has things in his life that are hard. His parents – not so great. We have that in common."_ Back then Tristan had it bad for Rory and Paris' jealously had come between any chances the two had at a friendship.

"I'm gonna get back to my room – I'll see you around, Paris."

"Okay. Bye Tristan."

_Why does he have to look so perfect, _Paris thought. Military school and getting older were definitely very good to Tristan. The shirt he was wearing was a little tight so Paris could see the outline of his six pack. There were still so many things Paris wanted to show Tristan to show him how she'd changed. At the social functions everything had to be prim and proper and the two only exchanged pleasantries…nothing more. Tristan had only gotten back from military school at the end of senior year then attended the University of North Carolina for a year. He'd been home for special affairs the DuGrey's had. Tristan's name hadn't been forgotten at Chilton, people just looked at the mark he left on people's lives. Rory hadn't wanted to remember him which was why she didn't. Tristan made her life a living hell in his third grade attempts to get her attention.

Rory sat in her dorm room just lying on her bed staring off into space. She'd only known Brian for two days but was absolutely crazy about him. Everything seemed a little too good to be true because of how quickly it all happened – Rory hoped that it wouldn't end as quickly as it started.

Paris walked into the room with an almost giddy look to her. Through all the years Rory knew her and all the changes she went through, giddy and Paris Gellar didn't go together. Rory wanted to know all the details.

"Well, remember when I told you I had a crush on him since the sixth grade?"

"Yeah…what happened?"

"We sat there and talked and I was reminded of all the things I liked about him."

_And all the things that he liked about you,_ Paris thought to herself. It's not that she was jealous of Rory, but she didn't like how every conversation had to revolve around her. Paris didn't want to keep the two from remembering each other, especially not since Rory had Brian.

"Aw, Paris, that's so great. Maybe you can double date with Brian and me."

"Does this me he asked you out?"

"Yes," Rory gushed, "he was so cute about it too."

"Did you tell Lorelai yet?"

"No, she'll want me to bring him home so her and Luke can interrogate him," Rory laughed.

Paris agreed with her friend, but they decided that if Lorelai wasn't told everything she would have Rory's head on a platter by Friday night. With that in mind, Rory called Lorelai and told her that it was official with Brian. Of course she was right and agreed that after class one day during the week, she'd bring Brian to Stars Hollow. Rory had so many memories in Stars Hollow, she was almost afraid of bringing him there. There was one thing from Rory Gilmore's past that a new boyfriend would only hurt…Dean. Lindsey was only 3 months pregnant and Dean was by her side like the perfect husband he thought he should be. Seeing them together killed Rory because it made her realize how fake people could be and how big of a mistake that night really had been.

The next morning came and Rory was off to her first class, coffee in hand. The class was Investigative Journalism; Rory looked for a familiar face when she walked in and the only one she saw was Tristan. Since she didn't remember him from Chilton, she didn't mind him sitting next to her. Brian was planning to meet Rory after her class to join her for lunch, so she was strongly anticipating the end of class.

It was sophomore year and most of the students in the class were either journalism majors or minors so the professor didn't waste any time starting class. Rory couldn't believe how dazed she was during class; it was something that never happened to her before. Of course she was still taking notes on most of what the professor said, but when he droned on about something else she sat doodling in her notebook.

Tristan couldn't help staring at Rory next to him, hoping that she wouldn't realize. He noticed her doodling and that was something his Mary would never do in Chilton. Rory had definitely changed, but she still had that innocent glow to her. She looked older, that's probably why he didn't recognize her – but she was still as beautiful as ever. When class ended he decided this was the time to jog her memory about him.

"Hi…Tristan was it?"

"Tristan DuGrey…I'm surprised you don't remember me…Mary."

That name repeated in her head, _Mary_, only one person had ever called her that. He was the guy in Chilton who made her life miserable until he left. Then she remembered why he left. Tristan had gotten himself into some trouble and ended up in military school. When he left Rory tried her hardest to forget him and had finally succeeded until he came back into her life.

"You know deep down you missed me."

"I see you never changed."

"So you remember me now?"

"You tried your hardest to make me miserable."

"I wanted to prove that you wanted me."

"You didn't remember me at first either, where's your explanation."

Tristan wanted to tell her how he felt about her, but she got to him. Even all these years later she could still hit that nerve causing his defenses to go up. Tristan thought to himself that a 19 year old should not have to go back to third grade tactics.

"There are just so many girls, I can't remember everyone."

"Apparently something made you remember me."

"You're Mary; you were the last person I saw before leaving. You look different than you did…that's all."

If only he could say how beautiful she looked, but before he had the chance to Brian was walking over.

"It's called growing up, maybe you should try it."

"Rory," Brian greeted her with a kiss, "who's this?"

"Brian, this is Tristan – we went to high school together."

"Old friends?"

"You could say that," Tristan responded.

"More like sworn enemies," Rory added as she said goodbye to Tristan and walked off with Brian.

It hurt more than Tristan could ever admit to hear Rory say those words. He remembered back to the end of their sophomore year at Chilton when he'd bought the PJ Harvey tickets. He wanted to take Rory to the concert and even sacrificed her friendship with Paris to convince her to go. Rory flat out turned him down so many times that he once again went to the childish actions and took her books. Just then Dean was there and Tristan overheard Rory tell him she loves him then she said those painful words. _"He's not my boyfriend…I hate him._" If that wasn't bad enough, Tristan had to watch Rory kiss her bagboy. From that day on he didn't go near her until the Romeo and Juliet performance where he had to say goodbye.

Brian wanted to know more about Rory's high school life so he asked her about Tristan and how they knew each other.

"I don't remember much actually. Tristan was the guy that was with Paris that I could tell I knew from somewhere. On my first day at Chilton Prep Tristan nicknamed me Mary and he called me that for the rest of the school year. My boyfriend at the time was convinced that he had a thing for me. That's all I really remember now."

"Do you think he did?"

"Have a thing for me? Never, Tristan could have any girl – I didn't want him so I became a challenge."

Brian dropped the subject even though he wanted to know more. Rory kept spacing out while eating her lunch and he became very curious about what went on between Rory and Tristan in high school.

Paris found Tristan roaming around campus with a frown.

"What's got you down?"

"Nothing," he responded dryly.

"If you say so."

"Paris…back in Chilton…"

"What about it?"

"I remember Rory now…I remember her as my Mary. Why didn't you tell me when I first brought her up yesterday?"

Paris didn't know what to say. She didn't want to tell Tristan that it was because she wanted him to herself.

"I don't know. I was pretty taken aback that you didn't remember each other, it didn't click to say Mary."

"She never changes, ya know that?"

"I've lived with her for a year. She has changed though; we became good friends not long after you left."

"She's still an innocent Mary though."

"Don't start with that on her Tristan. Please."

Although Paris didn't know what happened between Rory and Dean she knew that anything sexual had become a touchy subject. She might've wanted Tristan for herself, but she didn't want to hurt Rory that much. Tristan's sexual innuendos could ruin anyone's day…anyone's that is but her own. Tristan looked at his childhood friend and was suddenly confused about everything he'd known since military school. Paris was hiding something and it had to do with the girl Tristan had finally forgotten.


	4. Look What He Did

**AN:** Wow – I can't believe how many amazing reviews I got…you all rock so much! THANK YOU J

The next few days were pretty uneventful except for Tristan's constant thoughts on how to get Rory and Paris's ideas to win Tristan. Paris realized that Tristan's feelings for Rory hadn't disappeared – he'd just pushed them away while he was in North Carolina. It was Friday morning and Rory had planned to bring Brian with her to Stars Hollow before going into Hartford for dinner with her mother.

"Paris, what am I going to do? I can't take my new boyfriend into Stars Hollow!"

"Why not?"

"Because my ex boyfriend is there!"

"He's also married, Rory. What's the big deal?"

Rory froze up as she did any time Dean was mentioned. Paris didn't want to pry into whatever Rory was hiding, but she knew it had to be big. There was something really bothering her friend and Paris wanted to comfort her.

"Ror, are you okay?" Paris questioned, "You know you can tell me."

Tears were forming in Rory's eyes and before either girl knew what hit, Rory was lying down crying hysterically. Everything from that night with Dean was repeating in her head. Everything from when he told her that it was all over with Lindsay to Lorelai comforting her on the front steps. That night jeopardized Lorelai and Rory's relationship – it was the first time Lorelai had truly been disappointed in her daughter. All of the events haunted Rory's dreams but this was the first time something real faced her. When she'd first heard that Lindsey was pregnant it seemed like the end of the world but now there was Brian in the picture. What would her new boyfriend think if he knew she slept with another girl's husband? He'd hate her for sure. Paris went over to Rory's bed and sat down looking her friend in the eye.

"Do you remember when my mom's inn opened?" Rory asked through her tears.

"Yes, it was all you talked about for months leading up to it."

"That night mom sent me home to get some CDs…when I got there…"

She paused; the words were all getting harder to say. Rory hadn't told anyone what happened, it was too painful – it could cause too much damage.

"What happened, Rory?"

"Dean was at the house," she continued. "He'd been fighting with Lindsey and he told me that it was over between them. He told me that neither of them were happy and that he could be happy again," the tears started flowing faster.

Rory didn't need to finish the story, Paris had figured out exactly what happened. This was by far one of the most shocking things she'd ever heard. Rory Gilmore was supposed to be perfect; this was her one flaw. Paris attempted to comfort her hysterical roommate, but nothing was working.

The phone rang and Paris answered since Rory wasn't in much of the position to talk to anyone.

"Paris. Let me talk to Rory."

"Hi Lorelai, I'm not sure she's too up for talking right now."

"What happened?"

"She was nervous about bringing Brian tonight and she told me about Dean."

Lorelai almost dropped the phone when Paris told her that. No one knew about that night except for the three of them…what caused Rory to tell Paris? Was she really that nervous about bringing Brian to Stars Hollow? Lorelai asked Paris to have Rory call her back when she was feeling up to it and hung up the phone. Lorelai felt as helpless as her daughter so she ran to the one person who could always cheer her up.

"Coffee…please."

"How much have you had today?"

"Please don't deprive me! You're my favorite mean old coffee man."

Luke filled Lorelai's cup and looked at the sadness in her eyes. He asked what was bothering her and when she said that it was nothing he accepted it. He didn't come close to believing Lorelai was okay, but he knew that she would go to him when the time was right. In the past couple of months Lorelai and Luke had developed a very good relationship…it didn't change much from what they had before. The whole town knew they were together the morning after the test run at the Inn and people were acting differently around them. Luke and Lorelai themselves though still had their usual arguments about her eating and coffee addiction. They never expressed their love to each other like most couples did; instead they showed it through banter and kisses. Lorelai had wanted to tell Luke what was going on while they were admitting their feelings for each other, but she knew that wasn't what Rory wanted. Rory wanted for everything to be kept just between them because as soon as something got out in Stars Hollow everyone knew. Rory Gilmore wasn't going to become the whore of Stars Hollow and she wasn't going to risk the well being of Lindsey's baby.

Lorelai had to go back to work as soon as she left the diner; she hoped that Michel's attitude could get her mind off Rory. There were still a few hours until Rory and Brian would be getting to Stars Hollow, although Rory only had one class on Fridays Brian had three.

"Michel, I told you that you couldn't bring your dogs to the Inn."

"But Lorelai, Paw-paw is sick and I don't want Chin-Chin to get it."

"I've told you before, find a Chow sitter. I don't need your dogs running loose in the Inn. What if someone's allergic? Do you want to cover the law suits?"

"You own the Inn, you'd be responsible."

"Michel, just get Chin-Chin out of my Inn."

"I despise you."

"Love you too."

Sookie walked into the lobby at the end of Lorelai and Michel's argument. She seemed concerned about something.

"Lorelai…"

"Yeah, Sookie?"

"Jackson couldn't get me what I needed so now I have to change tonight's menu. Everything's ruined – people are coming for my stuffed peppers, but I can't make them unless Jackson gets me the right ingredients."

"Calm down, Sookie. Do you have the ingredients to make something else just as good?"

"Yes."

"Then make something else, problem solved."

Lorelai couldn't fight the feeling that there was something else bothering Sookie, but she didn't have the time to find out. Rory was coming with Brian soon and she wanted to make sure that they didn't see Dean. Everything had to be perfect for Rory; she'd been through way to much.

Paris had run out of ideas on how to help Rory. There was nothing that would make things better short of going back in time. With a few jokes and some light conversation, Rory was smiling by the time Brian got to the room to pick her up. He took her hand and led her to his car…before she knew it they were off to Stars Hollow. Rory decided on the car ride to explain all the quirky characters of Stars Hollow to her boyfriend.

"Well there's Miss Patty, she's a dance teacher. She's in her 40s and will most likely hit on you. She tried to pick up my dad once and went onto some ramble about everyone in town being my parents. She's had a lot of husbands; the town sometimes jokes about her trying to beat Liz Taylor."

Brian laughed, where he was from was nothing like Stars Hollow. He'd grown up in a typical large suburb on Long Island. He had New York City at his fingertips – there was nothing small town about that.

"Then there's Luke, my mom's boyfriend. The first memories I have of him are when he denied my mother coffee…"

"Who would dare deny a Gilmore coffee?" Brian responded sarcastically.

"I know, it's a sin…but Luke still does it. He's always been like a father to me so I apologize now if he says or does anything. When my first boyfriend broke up with me, Luke was fighting him in the street…"

Rory's voice broke during that sentence. She remembered how happy she'd been with Dean when they first started dating and even when they got back together the first time. Her eyes were once again tearing, and then another memory came back to her. The night after Dean broke up with her…the same day as Luke was keeping him out of the diner, Rory went to that party. Madeline's party where Tristan's girlfriend broke up with him and she found him on a piano bench…the night her and Tristan kissed. How could she have forgotten that? That kiss made her cry over Dean for the first time…she really cried. Dean was her first boyfriend, her first kiss, her first love, her first…

Brian didn't know what to do when he saw Rory crying in his car next to him. They were almost in Stars Hollow and all he wanted to do was hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay. But he realized there was something in Rory that wasn't going to be okay. Something happened with her ex boyfriend that she couldn't deal with. As much as Brian wanted to know what it was so he could be there for her, he didn't want to pressure her into telling him anything. It seemed like she had a rough day so seeing her mother would be good. Rory pointed him the direction of her house once they arrived in the small town.

She got out of the car first then took Brian's hand and led him into the Gilmore house. One look at the couch where she'd slept most of the summer and the waterworks began again. Maybe taking her boyfriend home wasn't the greatest idea she ever had. Lorelai walked down the stairs to see her daughter in tears and automatically went over to hug her.

"What's wrong sweetie?"

"Being back here…having a boyfriend back here…"

She didn't have to say anything else, telling Paris had sparked something in Rory. Lorelai told Rory that there was nothing to worry about. No one else in Stars Hollow knew or was going to know and Paris was a good friend, she could be trusted. After a few minutes of Lorelai humor, Rory was back to her old self again.

"Mom, this is Brian."

"Hi, Ms. Gilmore."

"Didn't Rory teach you anything? It's Lorelai, if you call me Ms. Gilmore ever again I might have to castrate you."

"Noted, Lorelai."

"I like this one…he drinks coffee and listens to my threats."

Rory laughed and suggested taking Brian on a tour of the town. The first stop was of course Luke's for some quality coffee. When he watched Brian drink his at the same speed as the Gilmores, his face turned to a look of horror. It was a male version of Rory and Lorelai! The next stop was Miss Patty's where Patty of course was standing outside with a cigarette while the children inside danced.

"Hello Rory, who is your friend?" Miss Patty greeted them.

"Hi Miss Patty, this is Brian…my boyfriend."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said kissing her hand.

"Ooh…this one's a keeper. He's much better than that hooligan, Jess."

"Patty, please," Lorelai chimed in.

"I'm sorry girls."

"That's okay, Miss Patty, we're going to go now."

When the girls walked away, Brian asked Rory about Jess. It was a touchy subject and she promised that one day she would tell him all about the guys in her life. One day when she was ready to talk about all of it.

Paris went to dinner in the dining hall that Friday night where she ran into Tristan. He looked so amazing and he wasn't even doing anything. Paris walked over to him and sat down across from him and started a conversation. He noticed how much more outgoing Paris was and decided that since he was bored and without a date on a Friday night; he would give her a chance.

"So, Paris…what are your plans for tonight?"

"I don't know, Rory told me I can't go to any more parties," she laughed.

"I can understand why."

Tristan invited Paris to his room to watch a movie and she was more than happy to accept. After dinner the two walked back to Tristan's room where he pulled out _Cruel Intentions_. He didn't know why that was the movie choice, but decided that he was in the mood for it. Tristan decided to sit back against the wall and invited Paris to lie down with him. She wanted more than anything for him to put his arms around her so she pretended to be cold.

_This is too easy; I've known her all my life,_ Tristan thought. He was a little sexually frustrated having only been with one girl in the week at Yale. The year before at UNC he had someone different almost every night. He hadn't been able to get into a relationship; in his mind no matter what it would be doomed. It was easy to tell that Paris was getting quite comfortable in Tristan's arms so he looked at her and kissed her very gently. Much to his surprise it was Paris who deepened the kiss. It was then that Tristan realized that he couldn't hurt Paris and he didn't have any real feelings for her. Chilton was happening all over again; Tristan was using Paris to get Rory's attention. Once again Rory had a boyfriend and wouldn't give Tristan the time of day. Throughout the week he'd put out a few sexual innuendos and Rory turned him down just as she had at Chilton. It seemed that between the two of them nothing had changed.

Paris knew exactly why Tristan stopped kissing her, she wasn't Rory. This was going way too far – Rory was not going to get Tristan's heart again. What Paris Gellar wanted, Paris Gellar got…her newest conquest was Tristan DuGrey. She swore to herself that she would do anything to get it.

Around 6:30, Brian gave Rory a kiss and headed back to New Haven while Lorelai and Rory left for Hartford. The ride to the grandparents had an awkward silence and both Gilmores knew exactly why. Lorelai waited for Rory to speak knowing that it had to come from her first. Rory knew Lorelai's plan, but didn't know exactly what to say. She'd been an emotional mess the entire day – that night with Dean was coming back to haunt her.

"I don't know," those were the only words Rory could say.

"I understand, Rory. What happened that night changed you a lot; do you think you're going to tell Brian?"

"I don't know. I should, I should tell him everything so he understands. What if he doesn't understand?"

"I think he will."

Dinner was quiet that night; Richard and Emily still weren't speaking and Rory wasn't in the mood for very much conversation. The topics were very simple: Yale, the Dragonfly, and Lorelai's relationship with Luke. Rory's love life wasn't spoken about because Lorelai didn't want to see her daughter cry again. Brian gave Lorelai a good feeling and she hoped that he could erase all the pain Dean caused and even more, all the pain that Jess caused.


	5. The Truth Comes Out

**AN:** You all want the Troriness; I know…I'm getting to it. I have a lot of ideas of how it's going to happen and I promise it will be soon.

Rory spent Friday night in Stars Hollow because Lorelai didn't want her to be alone. At the end of the summer, Rory had finally started to get a little better – she was even able to sleep in her own bed again. Lorelai wasn't exactly sure what her daughter was so afraid of with bringing Brian to Stars Hollow. Brian wasn't Dean, he wasn't married and he wasn't going to lie to her. Maybe she was just afraid to see Dean while with her new boyfriend. Rory wanted to move on, but she couldn't move on seeing Dean with his pregnant wife.

Saturday morning Rory had slept in, when she woke up Lorelai was nowhere to be found. Then she found a note: _Rory – meet me at Luke's. – Mom._ She quickly showered and dressed then walked across town to the diner. When she walked in there was a cup of coffee sitting on the table with a stack of blueberry pancakes waiting for her.

"We knew you'd be up soon…and hungry," her mom greeted her.

"Thanks mom. Thanks Luke," she yelled to the man behind the counter.

"Are you feeling better, sweetie?"

"A little, I had a dream last night…"

"Was it about Dean?"

"It was about what happened, but it wasn't Dean."

Rory's tone said it all, the man in her dream wasn't Dean, and it wasn't Brian either. Lorelai only hoped that the man that was in the dream didn't hurt what Rory was forming with Brian. That was a heartbreak she hadn't gotten over…Jess just left her without saying a word. When he came back, he expected her to drop everything and leave. All summer Rory thought that if she had gone away with Jess, nothing would've happened with Dean. She wouldn't be feeling so miserable about herself. Lorelai continuously told her that what happened couldn't be changed, not to think about Jess.

After breakfast Lorelai had to go to work at the Inn. Before leaving she went over and gave Luke a kiss goodbye; although they'd been together for a few months, it was all still very weird for Rory to see. She stood up; ready to walk out of Luke's and head to Lane's house when Dean and Lindsey walked in.

"Rory, hi. I didn't know you were going to be in town."

"Hi Dean. Lindsey. I'm here for the weekend; I have to go to Lane's now."

"Bye Rory," Dean responded softly.

Rory couldn't even look at him without tears coming to her eyes. Luckily she was able to hold in the waterworks until she got outside and started walking to Lane's. Dean acted like nothing happened; like he never told her that he loved her and wasn't happy with Lindsey. They sure as hell looked happy going into Luke's!

Lane opened the door to find her best friend in tears standing there looking at her. She didn't know what to do, so she hugged Rory and invited her inside. Zack was sitting on the couch playing video games completely oblivious that there was someone at the door. Lane led Rory towards her room wishing her friend would tell her what was going on. This was something serious otherwise Rory would have told her before the waterworks began.

"I saw Dean at Luke's when I was leaving."

"I thought you two were friends…what happened this summer?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Rory said, crying.

"Ror – what happened?" Lane's tone was suddenly very serious.

"The night of the opening of the Inn, Dean came over and…and…he told me it was over."

Lane couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her best friend had slept with a married man…a married man whose wife was now pregnant. Lane understood why Rory hadn't said anything sooner, the entire town would know.

"Was he with Lindsey…at Luke's?"

"They were smiling and happy. He acted like nothing happened! I can't take this anymore, Lane."

"It'll be okay, Rory. Tell me about your new guy."

"He's amazing."

Lane was happy to see a smile on Rory's face at the mentioning of Brian. For the next couple of hours Rory told Lane everything about the dates she'd had with Brian already and Lane told Rory she had some good news as well.

"I'm not going to California."

"How is that great news?"

"Dave's coming back! Well, sort of…he's going to U. Hartford. He's gonna come back to the band too."

"Lane, that's great. I can't wait to see him again."

The girls discussed double dating once Dave got back and Lane noticed an uneasy tone to Rory. Suddenly she realized that everything with Brian wasn't perfect; there was something Rory was holding back. She wasn't sure if it was another guy of if Rory was just still that upset over Dean.

"Ror – is there something you're not telling me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You just sound a little uneasy and I wasn't sure if it was just over Dean."

"Well…there is something else. Do you remember when I was at Chilton, the guy who harassed me constantly?"

"Tristan?"

"Wow, it's funny how you remember him and I didn't when I first saw him. He's at Yale now and he's the same as he was when we were 16. I guess he's just getting to me."

Lane didn't want to touch that subject, especially since she'd never met Tristan. She remembered how jealous Dean got after the dance and how convinced her was of Tristan having a thing for Rory. The closest she came to meeting Tristan was when she saw him saying goodbye to Rory at the Romeo and Juliet performance. There was definitely something between them that Rory would never realize and even if she did, she would never admit it to anyone – including herself.

Their conversation was interrupted when Rory's cell phone rang; it was Brian. He asked her if she wanted him to come to Stars Hollow to pick her up to make things easier on Lorelai. In response, Rory called Lorelai who said that it was a great idea and then returned to Brian. She asked if he could pick her up at Lane's house and gave him directions. She couldn't wait for her best friend to meet the guy who stole her heart.

About two hours later, Brian showed up at Lane's door. Zack answered it and was completely puzzled because he had no clue that Rory was even over. He walked over to Lane's room and just stared at Rory wondering how she got into the house. Zack never was a bright one, but Lane needed him in the band. Lane looked at Brian and saw that he was a very attractive guy and completely into Rory.

"Do you want to get some coffee before heading back to Yale?"

"I'd love to."

Rory had found herself a guy who loved coffee and Lane could tell he was someone who was going to make her happy. But for some reason she couldn't stop thinking that Tristan was going to get in the way of this relationship. She wanted to see Rory happy, nothing else, so she pushed the thoughts away. The girls hugged good bye and Brian and Rory headed to Luke's for coffee and at the Dragonfly to say goodbye to Lorelai before they made their way back to New Haven.

Paris had been sitting in the room all day thinking up ways to get Tristan for herself. Rory was with Brian; that should be enough to get Tristan to see they had no chance. But no, of course not, he was Tristan. The DuGrey charm had never been enough for Rory and the more she turned him down the more he wanted her. In the beginning Paris thought it was just an infatuation, but after seeing the way he looked at her, she knew he'd fallen. All those other girls he was with – he was trying to make Rory jealous. Paris knew she was just another ploy.

The night before she felt amazing when Tristan kissed her, but she knew there was a reason he stopped. It had to be his conscience; she'd known him too long. Paris began to wish she was one of those whores that Tristan always slept with. At least that way she'd get to be with him.

Rory walked into the room to find Paris staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.

"Hey Paris."

"Hey. Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah, time with my mom and Lane usually can cheer me up."

"That's good. Did you tell Lane…"

"I did, I should've told her so long ago. But on a happier note, Dave's coming home so Lane's very happy."

Rory wanted to know what was bothering her roommate, but Paris didn't seem very willing to tell. Rory changed her clothes into a pair of sweatpants and a baggy sweatshirt to get rid of the chill of the September air. She then asked Paris if she wanted coffee, which she declined, and went to a cup of her own. In the coffee shop, Rory saw Tristan hitting on an attractive blonde who turned him down. She let out a little giggle and realized that the girls of Yale were too smart for his charm.

"Are you laughing at me, Mary?"

Tristan looked at Rory and how dressed down she was…she still looked absolutely beautiful. Everything about her body was left to the imagination and his went a little overboard. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off her; she was beautiful at Chilton, but that was nothing in comparison to the girl standing in front of him. Even in sweatpants she could make him want her. _Snap out of it DuGrey_, he told himself.

"I'm just amused that Yale girls aren't like Chilton girls. They don't fall at your feet because of your looks."

"So you're saying that I'm hot?"

"I said no such thing, Tristan."

"Why Mary, I always knew you wanted me."

"Because I would want someone who doesn't even know my name."

"Listen, Rory, maybe you and I should hang out – catch up on the past few years. I'd love to know what my Mary's been up to."

"I don't think that'd be the greatest idea. I have a boyfriend."

"You assume I'm asking you on a date, now who thinks highly of herself?"

"I thought military school was supposed to help you grow up."

"Ouch, Mary, you wound me," Tristan responded holding his hand to his heart.

"I vaguely remember a conversation where you told me you were going to start looking for girls with substance. How's that going?"

"This is Yale, doesn't everyone have substance?"

"But that's not why you'd date them, Tristan, is it."

"It's nice to see you still think you know me so well."

"I know a girl who'd love to date you."

"If you're talking about Paris I think I'm getting a little déjà vu – only you didn't kiss me any time recently."

Rory just looked at Tristan wondering what made him bring that up. She hadn't remembered that party too well; mainly because she'd tried her hardest to forget about it. That was the first time Dean broke her heart – Tristan had his heart broken too, they kissed and chocked it up to a bad night. He looked at her and noticed that he'd hit a soft spot. A mature guy would have apologized for mentioning anything, but when it came to Rory, Tristan was an eight year old boy. He was never sure exactly what it was about her; probably her innocence, but something made him regress around her. Anything that he'd learned in military school about self discipline was thrown out the door. This girl got to him in a way that no one else ever had. It took 4 years for him to finally forget her, why did she have to come back into his life?

Before Rory had a chance to respond, her cell phone rang. Brian was calling to see if she wanted to go out for a little that night around 9ish. They had returned to Yale around 3:30 and it was just after 4. She agreed to go…she decided that night she would tell him about the guys in her life. Maybe telling Brian about the relationship with Dean and about Jess would make her feel a little better. It was still too soon to tell him about what happened with Dean though; she would leave it at him getting married.

While Rory was on the phone, Tristan took the opportunity to leave, kicking himself. To get his mind off Rory he saw an attractive brunette from one of his classes walking across campus and decided to have a little fun. He approached the girl and with a few compliments had himself a date for that night. It was nice for him to see that the DuGrey charm still worked even though it couldn't get him the girl he wanted.

A couple of hours later, Rory was running around the dorm room getting ready for her date with Brian. During the course of the week, she and Brian didn't see very much of each other because of conflicting class schedules so they wanted to make up for it. She felt like she'd known him so much longer than a week. Brian had planned something out that he didn't tell Rory about, all he told her was to dress casual. Casual to Rory meant a pair of jeans and a fitted sheer red shirt over a small white tank top. It was a little chilly out, but she figured she'd be fine like that.

Brian arrived at the room to pick her up and complimented her on how great she looked. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to find her, but he knew there was a reason she'd been single all through her freshman year.

"You look great."

"Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself," she responded staring at his grey shirt that clung to his well toned body.

Brian laced his fingers in Rory's and led her out to his car. Throughout the car ride they talked about various things but never about their destination. Rory didn't want to be surprised but she knew that Brian had someplace great planned. They finally stopped at a park somewhere a few towns away from New Haven. It was one of Connecticut's colonial towns, but a larger one than Stars Hollow. There was no one there on the beautiful autumn night; that was what Brian wanted. He led Rory to a spot under a tree where they could just sit and talk. Brian sat down and invited Rory to sit beside him where she rested her head on his chest and he put his arm around her. Everything felt so right for both of them, they knew they'd found something special.

"I thought this would be a good way for the two of us to just sit and talk."

"It's so beautiful – look how clear the sky is." Brian smiled.

"It is beautiful, Ror, so are you," Rory blushed as Brian continued, "I want to know more about you. Have you ever been in love?"

That came out of nowhere and Rory wasn't quite sure how to react. She loved Dean but especially after the events of that summer she wasn't sure she was in love with him…as cliché as that sounds. She knew though, that she was in love with Jess. If she didn't care about him so much she wouldn't have been hurting so much after all the times he left her.

"Yes," she whispered, "have you?"

"Yes I have…but I was burned. She kept things from me and I lost her to another guy who was always on her mind."

From that comment, Rory knew that she couldn't hide Dean or Jess' existence from him, but it was still too soon to tell him about that night. Lorelai would never tell a soul, Paris and Lane could be trusted, and Dean wouldn't sacrifice Lindsey's baby.

"Tell me about her?"


	6. Tell Me Everything

**AN:** I've been getting some comments from people who like the long paragraphs and others who don't, so I'm trying to work it as the best of both worlds.

Rory felt a chill come over her as the wind started to blow and began to hug herself. Brian noticed and offered to run to the car to get his sweatshirt; as much as Rory didn't want him to move, she accepted. Brian got up and quickly ran to his car and returned with his Yale sweatshirt which Rory put on. Brian then returned to his position behind her and continued to rub Rory's arms to keep her warm. Then he remembered where they were in their conversation.

"Her name was Allison and she meant more to me than anything in the world. We were together for over two years when I started noticing her acting a little weird. Her best friend, Mike, seemed to be showing up a lot and ruining some moments that I'd wanted to be perfect. Before that I'd never suspected anything between them because I trusted her as much as I loved her. One day I saw the two of them together and the passion was undeniable…it was later I found out that they'd slept together before she and I started dating."

"Wow…I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I guess I was stupid not to realize the chemistry."

"Don't blame yourself for that. Sometimes people just don't realize what they feel."

"Tell me about your love, now."

She wasn't quite sure where to begin…she could start the day she found out about Chilton and Dean just appearing. Or maybe just starting with Jess, he was the true love.

"I'm not sure if my first boyfriend was really love; sure, I cared a lot about him, but there was something missing."

Brian wanted to hear about him anyway; he wanted to learn what he was being compared to. He knew that every girl compared her boyfriends even if it was subconsciously.

"Well Dean was amazing to me, for our three month anniversary he was building me a car. Right after he showed it to me, he broke up with me. I couldn't say 'I love you' back to him, I just wasn't ready."

Rory decided that she was going to leave out the kiss with Tristan; it wasn't as serious as what Allison had done, but it would cause complications. If Tristan was anything like she was starting to remember, he was going to complicate things enough. The kiss was such a minor detail; Rory wasn't even sure why she was worrying about it so much.

"We got back together a little over a month later and were very happy until Jess came to town. Jess is Luke's nephew and from the day we met there was something between us. I didn't realize it at first, I just saw him as a good friend who I could talk to about books…Dean on the other hand became jealous from the very beginning. A little over a year later, Dean and I were doing very well, or so I thought. My town had a 24 hour dance marathon and my mom was hell bent on beating Kirk, but I ruined that for her."

Rory had all Brian's attention, there was so much about this girl that he didn't know. She had such an innocent look to her and he knew that it was for a reason. She was such a sweet girl and never wanted to hurt anyone. He just sat and listened to every word that Rory said about her ex boyfriends.

"How'd you ruin it?"

"Jess was there with some girl that he called his girlfriend. All they did was make out in public places, it was truly sickening,"

_There's that innocence again_, Brian thought.

"He was just sitting there staring at me and I didn't realize that I was staring back until he called me on it. From there Dean just blew up; he told me that I was messing with his head and that Jess and I were into each other since he got to town. Later, I realized that he was right and Jess and I got together from there."

"What happened to Jess?"

"He disappeared without reason. We'd gotten into a fight which led to him fighting with Dean because I was crying. Then the next thing I knew, Jess was gone. He'd gone to live with his father in California without a single word to anyone but Luke. I was devastated because once he left I realized how much I loved him."

"Have you seen him since?"

"Twice – he came back almost a year later and told me he loves me, then left again. I didn't know what to think of that, I'd finally gotten over the heartache; I finally thought I could move on. Then his mother was getting remarried so he was back in Stars Hollow, but I was at Yale so I didn't know he was there. He showed up at my dorm and tried to get me to runaway with him. I said no and I haven't seen him since."

In the middle of her last sentence, Rory started to choke on her words and Brian gave her a gentle kiss for encouragement. Brian could tell that Jess really hurt her and he wanted to do his best to cure her. He made a promise that he'd never break her heart as long as she promised not to break his. Rory of course agreed to this and the two continued talking. They talked more about their parents and their pasts. Rory learned that Brian was from the quintessential American family…his dad was a doctor, his mom a teacher and he lived with them and his little brother in a suburban Long Island town. Brian listened carefully when Rory spoke about her father and of course about Lorelai.

"How often do you talk to your dad?"

"Pretty frequently, he and mom have almost gotten back together so many times. They say that your first true love is that special, but time has brought them apart too. Mom's happy now with Luke, but Dad's divorcing his wife, Sherri."

It was starting to get late and both had homework and studying to do before class on Monday. The two decided that it was time to head back to Yale and get some sleep. Rory couldn't believe how amazing a time she'd had just sitting and talking while lying in Brian's arms. There was the occasional kiss here and there, but otherwise nothing. While both desired to be more physical, they were both satisfied from their date.

While Rory was on her date, Paris was around campus looking for a way to get her mind off of Tristan. She met a guy that looked lost and introduced herself. The guy's name was Alex and he explained to her that he was sexiled by his roommate. The idea of a roommate doing that made Paris a little happy that Rory really was a "Mary" as Tristan always put it.

"So what are you doing aimlessly roaming the campus?" Alex asked.

"Trying to clear my mind, I thought some fresh air might do the trick."

Alex and Paris sat down on a bench and started talking. Paris actually found him to be interesting, but since he wasn't Tristan she didn't see it as more than a simple conversation. That simple conversation though, lasted for a few hours. They discussed random topics ranging from their majors to the Alex's roommate. Alex described him a self centered guy who got whatever he wanted. This wasn't the first time in the week they'd been on campus that he'd brought a girl back to the room. Little did Paris know, Alex's roommate was the same guy as she was trying to get off her mind.

When Rory got back to her room, she opened the door to realize that Paris wasn't there. Since she didn't know when Paris would be back she was hesitant to invite Brian in the room. He then leaned in and kissed her so gently, so sweetly that she was lingering for more and she changed her mind about the invitation. Rory sat down on the bed and patted her hand next to her, motioning for Brian to also sit. He looked in her beautiful blue eyes and saw an amazing girl that he was falling harder for every minute. Rory looked in Brian's emerald eyes to see a boy that was going to make her forget her past; he was going to help make her happy. Staring into each other's eyes led to the two getting closer and closer.

Brian made the first move, leaning into Rory and gently brushing her lips with his. He slowly began to nibble on her bottom lip then with his tongue pushed his way into her mouth. She gladly accepted the exploration and moved her tongue along with his. Rory let out a gentle moan as Brian put his arms around her; she then moved her hands to have one in his hair and the other on his back. The two continued until they felt the need for air. As soon as they broke apart they just looked at each other and smiled. They definitely felt there was something special between them.

That same night, Lorelai was sitting in her living room worrying about her daughter. Lane had called as soon as Rory left to tell her about Rory arriving at her house in tears. Neither Lane nor Lorelai knew how to get Rory's mind off of Dean when he was going to be in Stars Hollow. After Lindsey's baby's born things would get worse – Rory would realize that it was Dean's baby. This was one thing in Rory's life that Lorelai couldn't walk her through, she had to learn on her own.

Also on Lorelai's mind was her own relationship with Luke. The two hadn't been dating long, but already things felt different around town. No one was teasing her anymore about the two loving each other instead they were all shooting them looked that blatantly said "I told you so." Lorelai hated that phrase, but it was true…ever since she moved to Stars Hollow everyone could see it. She realized that she was the reason Rachel left and Luke was the reason things didn't work out with Max. Through everything relationship they each had; their feelings for each other stopped anything from happening.

She didn't know why, but Lorelai's mind then shifted to Christopher. The divorce was finally through and he'd moved out of Sherri's house. He wanted to stay close to Gigi after missing so many things in Rory's life, but at the same time he told Lorelai he wanted to be with her. Chris being around would make Lorelai's life more confusing than she could ever handle and she didn't want him there. Chris knew that she was with Luke, but that didn't change a thing in his head. Lorelai realized that Dean was Rory's Christopher. He was always going to be there and he was always going to be her first, it was up to her to move on. Lorelai had always told herself that she moved on, but she hadn't really until Luke. Rory just needed to find herself someone who did for her what Luke did for Lorelai.

Paris was still sitting on the bench with Alex when she decided to look at her watch and it said 1:30AM. She told Alex that she'd had a great time talking to him and that she hoped they'd see each other again. Paris didn't lie, she did enjoy talking to Alex, but she hoped he didn't expect a pursuit of anything. There was only one guy on her mind and that was Tristan DuGrey.

"I really hope Tristan will let me in the room," Alex said before leaving.

"Wait…did you say Tristan? Tristan as in Tristan DuGrey?"

"You know him?"

"I have for 15 years, he's the guy who sexiled you?"

"Yeah."

"Some people never change," Paris muttered in anger. She couldn't believe that Tristan was sleeping with some bimbo that he probably seduced into a date and bed. If only she could be that kind of girl, then she could have Tristan. But that wasn't Paris; she had to think of a way to get him…all of him.

When Paris arrived back at her room, she found Rory asleep in Brian's arms. They looked very cute together; Paris found it to be completely repulsive. _At least Rory's with Brian, I don't have to worry about her liking Tristan back._ Brian and Rory emitted such an innocent aura that Paris wasn't sure how long she could stay in the room with the two of them like that. If she hadn't wanted Rory to stay with Brian, she would've awakened the two, but instead she got into her own bed and fell asleep.

The next morning, Rory woke up wondering what the weight on her stomach was. She then remembered the events of the night before. Since the two had the room to themselves, after their little make out session Brian suggested watching a movie. They'd both fallen asleep during the course of the movie and Rory slept better than she had in a while. Bring in Brian's arms just felt so comfortable, so right. She'd never felt that way about a guy…not even Jess.

Brian woke up to find Rory smiling at him; he couldn't help but smile back. He felt like a very uncharacteristic college guy because he was perfectly content with literally sleeping with Rory. Although they'd only known each other a short time, he knew that she was a girl who was going to be very influential in his life.

Paris woke up not long after and saw the lovers just looking at each other.

"Get a room. Preferably one that I'm not sleeping in."

"Sorry, Paris, Brian was just leaving," Rory responded.

"I was?"

"Yes, you were. We talked about this last night; we have a lot to do."

"Okay…I guess," Brian answered flirtatiously giving Rory a kiss and leaving the room.

Paris was glad to finally see Rory happy; she felt bad about the way Jess hurt her. She swore to herself that she'd never become as vengeful as she'd been in high school. It wasn't Rory's fault that Tristan liked her so much…so why blame her?


	7. His Story

**AN:** I got my first bad review :( but the good ones made up for it. Sorry for the wait on this, I haven't been around much it's my last 8 days before college. It's not going to be much longer before I get to the real Trory, but I promise to throw in more banter before that. In this chapter you get to see Tristan's view on Chilton…well at least my take on it.

Paris looked over at how happy Rory was, she couldn't deny that she was glad but at the same time she was so jealous of Rory. Ever since her first day at Chilton, Paris could tell that Rory Gilmore wasn't the typical girl. Guys looked at her and were attracted to that innocent glow, then the intellectuals talked to her and realized everything she had going for her. Paris always felt so plain compared to Rory although neither girl worked very hard on appearances.

"Rory, have I changed since high school?" Paris asked out of nowhere.

"Well since you hated me from the beginning and held a grudge against me for two years and now we're living together, I'd say yes," Rory responded in a very Rory-like tone.

"Besides that though…my overall personality."

"You've changed in the past year more than anything. I'd say mostly since Jamie though; you've become more civil and outgoing…and dare I say it fun."

Paris was pretty satisfied with that answer; it meant that there was more to her than Tristan saw. She knew that he'd never just sleep with her because he couldn't do so without any emotion whatsoever. At that point, though, Paris wanted just about anything that involved attention from Tristan. She felt like she was 16 again and despising Rory because she had all of Tristan's attention. This wasn't the Paris that she'd become in the past couple of years. Regression wasn't very kind to her.

Rory could tell there was something going on in Paris's head that she wasn't filling her friend in on. Rory thought that it could have to do Tristan; she just didn't want Chilton to repeat again. Paris was one of her closest friends and she didn't need to go through the same bullshit as she was put through all those years ago. She remembered all the times that Tristan messed things up between her and Paris then the two becoming friends once Tristan was gone.

"I met a guy last night," Paris said out of nowhere.

"Really? What's his name?"

"Alex. He's Tristan's roommate; Tristan kicked him out of the room last night."

"He really didn't change."

"Yes, he did."

Rory wasn't exactly sure why Paris was defending Tristan after proving that he was the same player as in high school. She didn't want her friend being hurt from the games that Tristan DuGrey would always play.

"I'm going to get coffee, do you want to come?"

"Sure," Paris responded.

The two girls then left their room and headed to the coffee shop.

Alex returned to his room Sunday morning to find Tristan sitting at his computer typing something. It was still early and the girl was gone, that said a lot about his roommate.

"Hey man, sorry about last night. I've just been really out of it lately and she offered…"

"That's all I need to hear, don't worry about it. I ended up meeting a pretty cool girl last night…she said she's known you for a long time."

"Really…what's her name?"

In the back of his mind, Tristan was hoping that it was Rory that Alex ran into. If Rory had been roaming around campus by herself then she wasn't on a date with that new boyfriend of hers.

"Paris something or other."

"Gellar."

"You sound disappointed, were you hoping it was someone else."

Tristan didn't respond, he just started to think about Rory. If he was ever going to get her, even as a friend, he'd have to prove that he changed…but how? Whenever he was around her it was Chilton all over again. It was so unlike him to get nervous around a girl, especially one that he pushed to the back of his mind for so many years. He'd cared about her more than he'd cared about any other girl; there was something special about Rory Gilmore.

The phone rang and Alex answered it; once he handed it to Tristan, he left the room.

"Hello?"

"Tristan, it's Duncan. How's it going man?"

"Got laid last night…you?"

"Same."

"Duncan, do you remember that girl back in Chilton?"

"I need a little more than that; there were a lot of girls back in Chilton."

"Rory Gilmore."

"Mary? What about her? I thought you planned to forget her when you went to Military School."

"She's here. She didn't go to Harvard."

Tristan and Duncan discussed the night they broke into Bowman's dad's safe ruining any chance Tristan had with Rory. Tristan had mentioned his Mary to Duncan and Bowman many times when he first started hanging out with them. They'd kept him away from her until that Romeo and Juliet performance where they'd seen how bad he had it. When Tristan got off the phone he remembered even more how it was because of Rory that he was in military school. If she hadn't been so perfect in his eyes, there would've been no reason for him to be so hurt when she said she hated him, when she told Dean she loved him.

When Alex left the room, he'd gone to get a cup of coffee to wake him up after a horrible night's sleep. He also wanted to see Paris; maybe she'd know why Tristan was acting so weird. Alex didn't think he was falling for Paris, but he knew he wanted to see her. As luck would have it, she was the first person she saw when he walked in. The girl she was with looked familiar too.

"Paris, hey."

"Hi Alex. This is my roommate, Rory."

"Hi Rory."

The three sat and talked over their coffee for a little while and Alex just looked at Rory wondering why he thought she looked so familiar. Nothing was clicking in his head, so he just continued to converse with the two girls. A few minutes later Tristan walked in and saw his roommate sitting with Paris and Rory.

"Alex!" he greeted, "hey Paris. Mary."

"Her name's Rory," Alex responded.

"He knows that Alex, he just prefers to torment me."

That's when it finally set in; Alex knew where he'd seen Rory before. Tristan had the yearbook from his sophomore year of high school and he'd often had it open to Rory's picture. Alex never wanted to ask why Tristan stared at that picture, but now that he saw the two together he was getting curious.

"Torment's a harsh word, Mary, I prefer persuade."

"Persuade me to do what?"

"Admit that you want me."

"You're impossible."

"I'm right."

"Whatever Tristan, I thought military school was supposed to cause people to mature, I guess that's not the case in your situation."

With that Rory left the coffee shop and ran back to her room. Paris was trying to hide how much she hated it when Tristan and Rory would have their banter; it was so obvious Tristan was still crazy about Rory. In order to cover up her own feelings, Paris ran after Rory to be the good friend.

Alex decided that he wanted to know what was going on between Tristan and this girl. He'd seen his roommate with other girls, but he'd never acted like that before. There was something about Rory that made Tristan act like a third grader and Alex knew it was something that happened in high school.

"Tristan, what was that about?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The way you acted towards Rory; it seems almost like you're in love with her."

"Stop assuming you know anything!" Tristan snapped and walked off.

He left Alex sitting by himself realizing that there was a lot to this story that Tristan didn't want to tell. Tristan had it bad for Rory and this wasn't a new thing; something happened in the past between them. Alex wanted to know what it was, but he knew Tristan would tell him in time.

"Paris, I don't know how you can see anything in that jerk."

"He's not like that all the time. There is a really good side to him."

Paris wanted to tell Rory that Tristan only acted that way around her; that Tristan had it bad for her. She knew that Rory disliked Tristan strongly enough in high school that the idea of him liking her would make her push him away. Especially with Brian in the picture, Rory would want nothing to do with Tristan. Rory was lying on her bed doing some homework and studying while Paris was staring at the ceiling thinking about Tristan. She was coming up with a plan to get him, but didn't seem to be getting anywhere.

Alex got back to his room to find Tristan once again flipping through that yearbook. He apologized for assuming things about Tristan and Rory and Tristan apologized for snapping. He explained that it was a touchy subject and even he didn't know what was going on.

"Did something happen between you two?"

"When she first came to Chilton she had this innocence to her so I nicknamed her Mary. Most of the girls at the school would've done anything for me, but she was different. At first she was just a conquest; she was the girl that killed my ego. After a while I really started to fall for, even more so after she let me kiss her."

"You kissed her?"

"My girlfriend broke up with me at a party so I went into the piano room to be by myself and Rory was looking for a place to read quietly. She found me at the piano bench and started to talk to me. Every word she said made me completely forget about Summer and the public breakup; she was so amazing that night. No matter how awful I was to her, she still was caring."

"She seems like a great girl. So does Paris."

"I'll get to Paris," Tristan laughed, "anyway that night…Rory sat down next to me and she looked so beautiful. I wasn't sure what took over but I kissed her – then she ran away crying."

Tristan remembered how he felt that night; how rejected Rory made him feel. But after that kiss he'd only wanted her more. Even years later he still remembered exactly how her lips felt on his and wanted more than anything to feel it again.

"In school that Monday I couldn't stop myself from looking at her, I wanted to get over being such an ass and say something, but I couldn't. She told me that we needed to talk and I can't explain how much it killed me when she said it was out of heart break. Then she suggested I take Paris out and I did; I didn't want to hurt Paris but I had it bad for Rory. When things didn't work out with Paris, Rory got pissed off at me so I told her I liked someone else – she assumed Summer."

"Why did she suggest you going out with Paris?"

"Because Paris liked me."

Things were finally becoming clear to Alex about why Paris was so nice to him. She didn't want him; she was using him to get to Tristan. He started to devise a plan to make Paris realize that Alex was not the kind of guy whose mind she could play games with. Alex also realized that there was a lot to the game that Tristan could teach him.

Tristan continued, "a few weeks later I bought concert tickets to this chick that Rory liked because I wanted her to go. Even after she turned me down I told everyone she was going just to do the damage to make her agree. That was the first day I seriously had my heart broken. Her ex boyfriend showed up right before I got her to agree and she told him that she hated me – that she loved him. From there I started hanging out with two guys that got me into trouble and landed me in military school. Rory was the last person I talked to before leaving. I had told the guys not to let me see or talk to her and it worked until she was Juliet to my Romeo. When I got to military school I tried my hardest not to think about her and even started to forget until I saw her again."

Alex started to ask Tristan questions about how he got all those girls in Chilton, military school, and UNC. Tristan could tell that Alex was up to something, but wasn't sure what. Paris was in for a surprise.

The next day Rory went to class to find Tristan once again looking at her. She didn't want to acknowledge him in any way because that would only make things worse. Tristan on the other hand wanted her to know exactly where he was. After class he decided to approach her and tried to promise himself that he'd act mature.

"So, Rory…"

"Wow, you used my name," she interrupted.

"Why aren't you in Harvard? Did they reject you?" _Damn it DuGrey!_

"Actually I did get in, but I chose Yale. My grandfather went here and it's close to my mother."

"Your mother?"

Tristan wasn't used to people who wanted to be near their parents. All the socialites couldn't care less about their kids, except their images of course.

"My mom had me at 16, she's my best friend."

Tristan was mentally taking notes on ways to get Rory while at the same time being very proud that he was acting his age.

"I'm sure Yale's being good to you."

"Very, but Tristan I have to go. Bye."

"Bye…Mary."

Rory couldn't deny that hearing him say Mary made him smile. She didn't even know why; she was crazy about Brian.


	8. Low for Even Paris

**AN:** You are all amazing, thanks for all the reviews and the criticism. I know you want the Trory to come and it will in time…I promise the wait will be worth it. I think I'm going to rename the story because I realized there are two other stories called "Remember Me" I was thinking "I Tried to Forget You" any opinions?

Paris was walking back to the dorm after her morning class when she ran into Alex. The two started talking about class until Paris brought up the subject of Tristan and his little one night stand. Alex didn't really want to talk about Tristan because every word made him realize that Paris was using him for her own sick game. He knew that there was some way he had to get her back.

"So Paris, are you doing anything Friday night?"

"Not that I know of, why?"

"Would you like to go to dinner with me?"

"Sure, Alex, that would be great."  
Paris agreed thinking that if she had any chance with Tristan, she'd make him jealous by dating his roommate. Maybe she'd even prove how much she's changed by giving in to anything Alex wanted after the date. That still wasn't the way she worked, but when it came to Tristan anything that made sense left Paris's head. She continued to talk to Alex for a little and they finalized their plans for Friday. She figured that there was no need to check what Rory was up to because she was most likely going to be hanging out with Brian.

After her next class, Rory walked past her roommate talking to Alex and was pleased that Paris had moved on from Tristan. Even if there was something there that Rory wasn't seeing, any guy was better for Paris than Tristan. She continued back to her room and started her homework and did a little studying for all of her classes.

About an hour later, Paris came into the room and announced that she had a date for Friday night. Rory was very excited and paused her studying for a gab session with Paris.

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure, but Alex asked me out."

"That's great."

"Yeah, it's going to be fun," Paris said without as much enthusiasm as Rory expected.

There was something going on and Rory could tell, but she didn't know exactly what it was. Paris had only met Alex a few nights before, but then again Rory fell for Brian in the course of a few hours. She knew that if there was something really going on in Paris' head, she'd fill her in.

Rory began to feel a little insecure in one of her political science classes after receiving a B on a paper she wrote, so she went to Brian's dorm to see if he'd help her study for a quiz the next day. On her way to his room she saw Paris with Alex and Tristan and was hoping they wouldn't notice her.

"Rory!" Paris yelled.

"Great," Rory mumbled to herself walking over to where the three were standing.

"Hey Mary, where are you off?"

"Not that it's any of your business, Tristan, but I am going to Brian's room."

"My little Mary's growing up so fast," he responded mockingly.

"I'll talk to you later, Paris. Bye Alex."

And with that Rory got away from them. Paris had to hide how upset she was that Tristan diverted all of his attention to Rory the second she walked over, but Alex noticed it. Every time Paris did something like that he felt a little better about everything he had in mind. Little did he know she was thinking some of the same things. The two stopped their own thoughts to notice Tristan watching Rory walk away; he was attentive to her every move…it couldn't have been more obvious that he was still crazy about her.

"She had a boyfriend," Paris said interrupting his thoughts.

"Did that stop me in high school?"

"Actually it did…I believe your exact words were 'I'd kiss you, but your boyfriend's watching' right before you left."

"If I didn't end up in that shit hole military school, Rory Gilmore would be eating out of my hand."

"In your dreams, DuGrey."

"You'll see, Paris, I'll get my girl. She'll see that no one will care about her the way I do."

That was the first time Tristan had completely admitted to Paris his crush on Rory, but he knew that she could tell all along. Tristan didn't realize that Paris still had feelings for him, but that never stopped him before and wouldn't now. All he wanted was to kiss Rory again, to be with her, and nothing was going to stop him.

Rory knocked on the door to Brian's room hoping he'd be there. His roommate, Eric, answered the door and stared at the girl standing there.

"Is Brian here?"

"He'll be right back. Are you Rory? You're even more beautiful than Brian described you."

"Thank you," she responded shyly.

"Come on in, he should be back any minute."

Rory sat down on Brian's bed and could feel Erik's eyes on her, it was creeping her out a little. Before she had a chance to say a word, Brian walked in the room.

"Rory, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I need a little favor," she asked seriously.

"What's wrong?"

"I have a quiz tomorrow and I'm confused on something, can you help me out."

"A tutoring session with the most beautiful girl I know, I don't see a problem with that."

For the next few hours Brian helped Rory study, sneaking in a kiss here and there. She couldn't believe how happy he made her and he felt exactly the same. After she felt she knew everything, she left Brian's room and headed back to her own.

"So Mary, I thought studying was a solitary activity," she heard behind her.

"What do you want Tristan?"

"I thought that was pretty obvious. I want you, Mary."

"Well, we don't always get what we want."

"I do," he said moving in front of her.

"Keep dreaming."

"Oh I will."

Rory couldn't take it anymore and just walked faster. She wasn't going to let Tristan get to her, he didn't deserve her attention. He couldn't ruin the good mood she was in after spending the past few hours with Brian. After getting back to her dorm, she collapsed on her bed and fell asleep. It was a Wednesday night so she didn't expect to wake up to a drunken Paris stumbling into the room at 2am.

"Rory, I think I had too much to drink," she slurred.

"Oh my God, Paris, you have class in the morning."

Her words didn't reach Paris's ears though; she was passed out within seconds. Rory didn't know what had come over her roommate, but something made her drink. She hadn't been drunk since the first weekend and Rory didn't think it was going to happen again.

The next morning, Paris woke up with yet another headache from a hangover. Rory didn't have time to take care of her; she had to get to class to take that quiz she'd been studying for. Paris had class only an hour later, so she took a shower and took a few aspirin with some coffee to try to get rid of the headache. She remembered the night before and what caused her to drink. Walking through the hall of Tristan's dorm she overheard him and Alex talking about Rory and how Tristan was going to stop at nothing to get her. Paris couldn't take all the talk about Rory so she went to a party and had a few beers and danced with a few guys. The morning was hellish especially going to class hung over, but Paris felt that drinking her problems away was the only escape she had.

Rory had a hard time concentrating on her quiz wondering what happened to Paris. It was very unlike her to do something that could affect her studies especially not getting drunk on a school night. There was something going on and Rory wanted to know exactly what it was. Luckily for her, the study session with Brian had given her enough memory joggers to answer the questions on the quiz without being fully conscious of what was going on. She hoped she did well on it, but promised herself not to blame Paris if she didn't.

Back in the room later that day, Rory decided to find out what happened.

"Paris, what happened last night?"

"I found a party and after the first beer I lost control. No big deal."

"Coming into the room in the middle of the night drunk is a big deal, Paris."

"You didn't care too much last time."

"We didn't have class first thing the next morning."

"I told you, Gilmore, it's no big deal."

Rory didn't believe a word Paris said, but dropped the subject anyway.

The next day, Rory found out that she aced the quiz and ran to Brian to thank him for everything. Tristan walked by as the two were kissing on the grass, his jealousy was beginning to rage and he walked faster hoping to control himself. The second he got in the room he punched the wall causing Alex to be a little alarmed.

"What happened?"

"Rory and Brian fucking making out on campus."

"That's what couples usually do, Tristan. She's not yours, you're gonna have to get over it."

"I'll never get over it and she will be mine. Mark my words, Rory Gilmore will be mine."

Alex was a little intimidated by Tristan's words, but didn't let it show. He was too busy figuring out what he was going to do on his own date with Paris the next night.

Friday night came along and Brian was invited to go with Rory and Lorelai to the elder Gilmore's home for dinner. He was a little nervous, but Rory told him exactly how her grandparents would act and what he should do in response. She told him he'd be fine. They arrived at the house and Emily greeted them.

"Grandma, this is Brian, my boyfriend."

"Hello Brian, do you attend Yale with Rory?"

"Yes I do, Mrs. Gilmore."

Emily led them to the living room where Lorelai gave Emily a nod of approval for her behavior towards Brian. The night went rather smoothly; Richard spoke to Brian about Yale and both Gilmores seemed to approve of him. After Rory left the room with Brian, Emily had nothing but great things to say about Brian.

When he brought her back to her dorm that night, Brian kissed Rory very gently before speaking.

"Rory, I know it's early in our relationship but I've thought a lot about this. I love you."

"I love you too, Brian"

Alex had taken Paris to a nice restaurant outside of New Haven where they were enjoying conversation and dinner. After dinner, they headed back to the Yale campus where Alex invited Paris back to his room. She'd been in there once before, only last time it was with Tristan. When they got to the room, she learned that Tristan wasn't going to be in that night; he had a study date. Paris knew that she could take advantage of Tristan not being there hoping he would be in the morning.

Luckily for Paris (or not), Alex had the same idea as she did. As soon as they got in the room she sat down on the bed and he sat down right next to her. Alex leaned in to kiss Paris and she willingly obliged to all of his needs. Alex ended up on top of her and slowly all of their clothing was removed. After both of them had their climax, the two fell asleep on Alex's bed.

The next morning Tristan walked in shocked at what he saw. Paris was naked in his roommate's bed and it was obvious what the two had done the night before. He left the room unnoticed and decided that he was going to her room later to talk to her about it. He strongly hoped that she didn't sleep with Alex only to get to him because it wasn't working.

Paris got back to her room the next morning to find Rory sitting in bed awake and studying.

"Where were you last night?"

"I stayed over Alex's."

"Paris? I can't believe this! It was one date and you said you don't even like him that much."

Tristan stood outside the room listening to Rory tell Paris exactly what he wanted to say. He couldn't believe that any of it had actually happened.

"You know something Gilmore; you're not one to talk. At least the guy I did it with was single. I'm not the one who slept with my married ex boyfriend."

Rory stared at Paris in shock that she'd stoop so low while Tristan was outside trying to convince himself that it wasn't what he thought he heard. Before Rory got to say a word, Brian walked in the room and just looked at her in disbelief. She'd hidden it from her, she didn't realize how much she'd hurt him.


	9. Tuesday Morning

**AN:** College hasn't been letting me keep up too well with my fan fics, but I have a little time to spare so I decided to write another chapter and hopefully I can keep more on top of it now that I've gotten into a regular routine. I hope you enjoy this one; I put a little spin on how I usually write.

Rory didn't know what to say; she'd hurt Brian more than she'd ever wanted to. He told her that a girl hurt him by keeping a secret – her secret was almost the same.

"How could you, Rory? Even after I told you about Allison?"

"I couldn't, Brian," she cried, "I can't tell the story without crying, it was a mistake."

"And this is a mistake that I can't handle for a second time. Goodbye Rory."

With that, Brian was gone; he didn't even look back, just walked away. Rory watched every step he took then collapsed onto her bed in tears. Paris tried to apologize; tried to talk to her, but Rory just wouldn't listen. How could she accept an apology from someone who just lost her a guy that she really cared about?

The phone started to ring and Paris answered, she told the person at the other end that she didn't think Rory was going to be too up for talking. Lorelai didn't accept that as an answer and demanded Paris let her talk to her daughter. Rory took the phone and cried into it that Paris ruined everything and that Brian wasn't speaking to her. The words were all slurred together and drowned out by the sobbing, Lorelai knew the only way she was going to find out what really happened was to go pick Rory up at school and take her home. It was Thursday though and Rory had classes to go to; even if she wasn't emotionally up for them, Rory Gilmore would never miss a class. Rory hung up the phone and stumbled around the room getting ready for class; she was going to compose herself then try to survive.

As soon as Rory left for class, Tristan knocked on the door to tell Paris that he heard everything and wanted to know what happened with Alex the night before. She opened the door very happy to see that her actions had gotten to him; if it wasn't because of Alex, why would he be at her door?

"How long have you been stalking my room?"

"About a half hour, I didn't want to come in before. I saw Rory's boyfriend run out."

"He's not her boyfriend anymore."

"Idiot."

Tristan had heard a conversation just like that before – all those years ago at the piano. It was the moment that replayed in his head even when he'd tried to forget Rory, he still remembered the girl at the piano.

"What did you really come here for, Tristan?"

"Okay, we'll cut to the chase. Why did you sleep with Alex last night and what happened to the Paris Gellar that I grew up with?"

"I grew up too. It shouldn't be okay for you to sleep around, but not me."

"I'd be fine with it if you weren't playing with his head."

"I wasn't playing with anyone's head."

"Then you actually do like Alex and you want to see him again?"

Paris didn't answer and Tristan knew he was right. He didn't know why Paris was playing with Alex's head, but had a feeling it had something to do with him and Rory. He was angry with her for being so selfish and for regressing back to her high school ways, so angry that he just walked away without even a look back.

Paris tried to talk to her crying friend, but Rory wouldn't even look at her. She realized that her actions through a course of 12 hours lost her two people she truly cared about. There was no way to make things up to her best friend; there was no way to get Tristan to think of her as someone he could be with. Just then Paris looked at the clock and realized that she had to get to class.

After Rory's class, Tristan found her walking slowly across the grass and began to approach her. She didn't even look at him; all she could think about was Brian. She'd hurt him by keeping something and he wouldn't even talk to him. If she only told him that it was something she couldn't talk about; if she could make him understand that it wasn't an easy subject. Maybe then he would realize that Rory really did love him and was going to tell him sooner or later. He shouldn't have found out like that; Paris shouldn't have said it in a way that anyone could ever hear. She trusted Paris, but Paris ruined that, Paris ruined everything.

"Mary…" _Damn, after what I heard that'll make her feel worse!"_

"Please Tristan, go."

"Rory, please, let me talk to you."

"I'm not in the mood, Tristan. Just go away."

Tristan heard a sound of pain in Rory's voice; he wasn't sure if it was calling her Mary that got to her or whatever was going through her head. He still couldn't believe that his Mary had slept with a married man; she wasn't a Mary anymore – but she could be his Mary. She could be his one day, things were over with Brian.

When Rory got to her room she realized that in class her lack of concentration in class was the same as if she didn't go at all. She called Lorelai and told her that she had to go home; she just couldn't stay in school any longer. Lorelai didn't ask what was wrong, just left the house and went to Yale. Rory's sobbing sounded like it did all summer; this whole thing with Dean was going to haunt her for a long time.

Rory didn't tell Paris she was leaving or even leave a note; she didn't think her "friend" deserved to know. Paris needed to realize what she did to Rory…she took away Brian who was the one good thing in Rory's life since Dean. When she was with Brian, Rory didn't think of Dean much at all.

"Sweetie, what happened?" Lorelai asked.

"Paris yelled," she sobbed, "Brian broke up with me."

"What?"

"Brian's ex slept with her friend before they dated, she hid it. He knows, Paris yelled and he heard."

Rory's sentences weren't making very much sense, but Lorelai put the pieces together. She wanted to find out exactly what Paris said and did that made Brian find out about Dean. Also she needed to know what happened with Brian's ex that made it such a touchy subject for him. Rory wasn't ready to talk about her night with Dean to anyone, it wasn't something she was proud of doing.

As soon as the girls arrived in Stars Hollow, Rory found herself in her room crying herself to sleep. Lorelai tried to comfort her but knew that there was nothing that could be said or done to make her feel better. As she was leaving Rory's room, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Lorelai."

"Paris, what happened?"

"Rory's gone; I don't know where she is. I went to class and I got back and she was gone. She's mad at me for yelling at her for sleeping with Dean and Brian broke up with her. Now I don't know where she is and I don't know what to do, I know she's not at class. Tristan said he saw her earlier and that she was upset." Paris was speaking a mile a minute.

"I came and picked her up. I thought you knew. She's upset because Brian broke up with her after finding out about Dean and she's angry with you so I came and brought her home."

"What about classes tomorrow?"

"She's skipping. She'll be back Sunday night."

Paris was upset with herself; but knew it was best to let Rory relax for a little. Lorelai started to put together the pieces but still wasn't sure exactly what happened and she knew that Rory wasn't going to want to talk about it. She went back into Rory's room to find her sleeping soundly on the salty pillow. Lorelai just let her sleep; it was all that could be done.

The entire weekend Paris sat in her room feeling horrible about herself for spilling but at the same time she didn't regret that Tristan knew about her and Alex. She had no feelings for Alex; it was proof that she too could have casual sex. Paris had become the kind of girl that Tristan wanted, but why wasn't he coming to her?

Tristan, on the other hand, was sitting in his room coming to the realization that his Mary was no longer truly a Mary. She not only had sex, but with a married man. For some reason she still had that same innocent glow that Tristan saw that night at the piano all those years ago. He wondered how he could let himself forget her and how amazing she was, but then he remembered. Rory never wanted Tristan, she always wanted her bagboy – he couldn't bear to be rejected. Rory was the first and only girl who had rejected Tristan DuGrey.

While working in Luke's that Saturday, Lorelai mentioned that Rory was home so Lane went to see her. She thought that maybe Rory could use a best friend to talk to or even just for a shoulder to cry on. Lane walked into Rory's room to just find her looking completely lost.

"Hey."

"Hey Lane."

"What happened?"

"Brian broke up with me because his ex girlfriend slept with her best friend and never told him about it."

"…and he found out about Dean?"

"Paris yelled it."

Lane just looked at her friend and sat down on her bed to console her. The two changed the subject and laughed. When Lorelai got home a few hours later she was very happy to see Rory smiling and laughing again.

Before the Gilmores knew it, Sunday night had come and Lorelai drove Rory back to Yale. When she got back to her room Paris was flipping out telling her how worried she was when Rory's car was around but she wasn't. Rory just let the words go in one ear and out the other; Paris wasn't the person she wanted to see.

Rory went to all of her classes Monday and spent the rest of the day trying to avoid Paris because her eyes would swell up every time. After dinner she decided to go for a walk around campus; during this walk Tristan saw Rory and decided to go talk to her.

"Hey Mary."

"Haven't you heard, I'm not a Mary anymore?"

"You'll always be my Mary."

Rory couldn't deny that made her smile; that was until she saw Brian walking, looking at them. Tristan tried to keep the eight year old behind and just be the friend that Rory needed.

"So Rory, do you want to go for a walk?"

As much as she was skeptical about walking anywhere with Tristan, she agreed because it would keep her away from Paris. It was better than she thought it'd be; Tristan was sweet. Of course there was the usual bantering between the two and him making sexual innuendos, but Rory felt okay with him. The two walked back to Tristan's room where Alex was already asleep and talked softly on his bed. Rory rested her head on Tristan's shoulder and didn't think anything of it; little did she know it was the greatest moment he could remember. Within an hour of being in the room, Tristan noticed that Rory had fallen asleep. His conscience was saying to wake her up and walk her back, but it was raining outside and she was sound asleep for what seemed to be the first time in days.

_I remember stormy weather _

_The way the sky looks when it's cold_

_And you were with me _

_Content with walking_

_So unaware of the world_

In Rory's sleep she heard the thunder and could feel Tristan's breath on her. She realized that he was a gentleman and just walked with her trying to make her feel better. Tristan was becoming like a brother to Rory; just a brother who made a lot of innuendos. Rory could see Tristan becoming a friend and felt completely comfortable with him. Maybe Tristan could lessen the pain until Rory could make it up to Brian and get him back.

_Please don't drive me home tonight_

_'Cause I don't wanna be alone_

_Please don't drive me home tonight_

_'Cause I don't wanna go_

_Tuesday morning_

_In the dark_

_I was finding out _

_Who you are_

Tristan didn't want Rory to leave his arms, ever. He learned so much about her that Monday night into the early hours of Tuesday morning. Tristan didn't want to be away from Rory ever even though she had no clue how he felt. He just couldn't find a way to let her go.

_I took your picture_

_While you were sleeping_

_And then I paced around the room_

_If I had known then_

_That these things happen_

_Would they have happened with you?_

Rory started to toss and turn so Tristan let her fall out of his arms onto his bed and he just stared at her. She looked so innocent that the mental picture would never leave his mind. He started to walk around the room wondering what would have happened had he not gone to military school. Talking to a girl in a way where she felt comfortable had never occurred to Tristan before; he'd never had to push anything, he always got what he wanted. If he'd tried talking to her all those years ago maybe something different would've happened.

After all that thinking, Tristan got back into his bed next to Rory and fell asleep staring at her. She was so beautiful when she was asleep.


	10. Apologies and Alcohol

**AN:** Wow, I got such great reviews :) thanks to everyone for those and I think I've worked it out so that I can update more regularly. For those of you who liked my story and haven't read anything else I have another Trory which is complete called _History Repeats Itself_ and three song fics 2 Trories called _Dreaming_ and _You Get to_ _Me_ and a Literati called _That Day_. I have a lot of ideas for the continuing of this story especially with the new season because Logan reminds me of Tristan and is inspiring me. Now on with chapter 10… - I wrote that AN back in November, I'm sorry it's been so long but with classes and other things in college I just haven't had time.

Rory woke up, not remembering exactly where she was until she saw Tristan staring at her. She knew that she had to get back to her room, nothing happened, but still she needed to get out of Tristan's bed. She woke up and began to stumble around the room – her balance was off due to the confusion of being in Tristan's room. Then she remembered that he helped her the night before.

"I have to get out of here, I have class soon…"

"Rory, wait," Tristan yelled as the girl he loved ran out of the room.

It was starting to set in that Tristan wasn't going to get the girl no matter how hard he tried. There was a perfect opportunity to take advantage of her vulnerable state, but he was trying to prove to Rory that he really did grow up. It was too late though, he just watched her run out the door.

Rory Gilmore ran to her own dorm wondering if anything happened that she didn't remember with Tristan. She remembered them talking then falling asleep; he was a perfect gentleman all night, nothing could've happened after she fell asleep. She opened the door to her own room to start getting ready for class and noticed there was someone sitting on her bed…Brian.

"Brian…hi"

"Rory, can we talk."

"I have to get to class, but I only have one…meet me after?"

"Coffee?"

"You know me."

"And umm…Rory?"

"Yea?"

"Where were you last night?"

"I was in Tristan's room," she said hesitantly while gathering her things, "nothing happened, we just talked and I fell asleep."

Brian didn't respond, he just silently walked out of the room and Rory began to wonder if he was still going to meet up with her after class. For the first time that morning, Paris began to speak.

"Rory…"

No response, Rory was still upset with Paris – even if Brian was speaking to her, it was going to take time to get over what her supposed best friend had done. She only had a couple of minutes, so Rory grabbed her bag and headed out to class.

Paris couldn't believe the way that jealousy was taking over from the second she heard that Rory had slept in Tristan's room. There was no way in hell Paris was going to let Rory have Tristan no matter how powerful the ways of Tristan DuGrey were. Paris had been the one to invite Brian to the room that morning; she wanted to explain to him that Rory was scared, not only of telling him, but of everything. If Paris could get Brian to understand that Rory was hurting as badly as he was then maybe he would take her back. Rory back in Brian's arms would leave Tristan open for Paris; Tristan would discover that Paris had become like the girls he always had.

Alex woke up still completely oblivious to the fact that anyone but he and Tristan had slept in that room the night before. The smile on Tristan's face gave away that something happened and Alex wasn't quite sure he wanted to know what that was.

"Nice smile, dude."

"Rory was here."

"When?"

"All night."

"Dude, don't tell me you…"

"No man, she fell asleep."

Alex was content with that answer as long as there was nothing going on while he was sleeping. He was happy that Tristan was finally getting the girl, but it also meant that Paris was going to be heartbroken and he still needed to get even with her. Alex was intrigued by Paris Geller, but at this point she was a game to him; she was a toy for his bored mind to manipulate just as she'd manipulated him.

Tristan watched as an evil smile appeared on his roommate's face, but he was in too good of a mood to ask why. Rory had been so beautiful sleeping – he just wished that she didn't run out so quickly. He decided that he would find her after class and they'd talk again; maybe he'd get the kiss he wanted the night before.

Rory got out of class to find Brian waiting for her, much to her delight. He walked with her over to the coffee shop and the two of them sat down in silence, drinking their coffee. It took a few minutes until one of them spoke.

"Listen, Rory, I'm sorry I overreacted. I just thought we told each other everything."

"I barely told anyone, Brian. That night was the biggest mistake I ever made and seeing Dean…seeing Dean with Lindsey still kills me. The only reason Paris knew is because I was crying before you came to Stars Hollow with me."

"But I told you what Allison did."

"I know and that made me feel worse…it just wasn't that easy for me to tell. I didn't want it to get out."

"I guess I can understand that. Will you forgive me for overreacting?"

"If you will forgive me for not telling you."

Brian stood up and took Rory's hand as the two went outside and began to walk around the Yale campus. Brian looked at Rory and saw how beautiful her eyes were when she was happy; they were sparkling blue matching the sky. He leaned in and kissed her gently then slowly the kiss became more passionate.

As the two lovers were in the midst of their reconciliation, Tristan walked by looking for Rory so he could talk to her…maybe kiss her. It was not the first time he felt his heart being ripped out of his chest, but this time he could've sworn he saw Rory jumping on it until it was nothing but a few drops of blood.

Brian had to get to class so he walked Rory back to her room and left her with a kiss. Rory floated into her room and called Lorelai immediately to tell her that she and Brian were back together.

"Are you in the diner?"

"Where else would I be sweetie? It's lunch time."

"Is Lane working?"

"Sure is."

"Can I talk to her?"

"The big bad boss man might get mad."

"So distract him."

"Okay."

Lorelai handed Lane the phone and went over to kiss Luke who knew something was up, but he wasn't going to push Lorelai away.

"Hey Rory."

"Hey Lane."

Rory quickly explained everything to Lane from falling asleep with Tristan to getting back with Brian. Lane tried to tell Rory that Tristan was still into her, but that wasn't making sense in Rory's naïve little head. She continued to deny it until Luke realized that Lane was on the phone when she was supposed to be working and she quickly told Rory that she had to go.

Rory was sitting at her desk doing some homework and studying when Paris walked in the room.

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?" Paris wasn't that confused, but she wanted to hear Rory's answer.

"For talking to Brian, whatever you said to him worked and we're back together."

Paris liked to see that smile on her roommate's face, but she also liked that there was no chance for Rory and Tristan and that Tristan was going to have to get over her soon. Rory told Paris that she finally saw how Tristan isn't always a complete and total jerk. That comment didn't make Paris very happy, if Rory softens around Tristan that gives him the perfect way to get himself in. There was no way in hell Paris was going to allow Rory to have her boy.

Tristan needed to get out that night; he needed to stop thinking about how he saw Rory making out with Brian. Just when he thought there was a chance for him to get exactly what he wanted, it was gone. He needed to drink away his problems and college was the perfect place to find a party that night.

Paris was having the same thoughts as Tristan and also wanted to find a party to go to. In the back of her mind she thought maybe he'd be there and maybe they'd both get a little drunk. While Rory was studying and daydreaming about Brian next to her, Paris got all dressed up and ready to go out and party.

"Paris, it's Tuesday night."

"So? We're in college, there are parties every night…it's what we're supposed to be."

"The Paris I used to know didn't do things because everyone else did."

"Well the Paris you used to know wasn't able to do something when she liked a guy."

With that last comment Paris was off to find the biggest party on Yale's campus. At first she didn't see Tristan there so she had a few shots of straight vodka to loosen her up a little.

"Aren't you gonna chase those?" asked a familiar voice.

"Real girls don't chase," she responded flirtatiously.

It was obvious that Tristan too had a few drinks already and both were just starting. They each had a few more shots then Paris downed a beer. She was open enough to be all over Tristan who was too drunk to realize that it was Paris dancing with him. She kissed him gently then added more and more passion to it. The inebriated Tristan just went along with it and allowed Paris to lead him back to her room not thinking that it was Paris Gellar. Rory was asleep when the two drunks arrived at the room, Paris still with her tongue down Tristan's throat. They went to the bed and immediately the clothes started to come off. With the first few sounds, Rory woke up and realized exactly what was going on. She didn't want to distract them, but getting out of the room didn't seem like an option. When it seemed they were done, Rory stood up and walked out.

Tristan, who was beginning to sober up, realized that he just slept with Paris and that Rory was right there. He couldn't have felt worse at that moment – not only had he slept with the one girl he never wanted to, it was in front of the only girl he'd ever loved. It was a mistake, but Tristan knew that Paris wanted it to work out that way. He had more to drink than she did when she attached herself to his side earlier that night.

"What's wrong, Tristan?"

"This was a mistake, Paris, you know it was."

"Why was it a mistake? If I was anyone else you would rub it off."

"You're my friend and you have been our entire lives. We can't be more than friends – I thought we went over this all those years ago in Chilton."

"I've changed, Tristan, I'm like all the other girls you wanted then."

"You're not the only one who's changed. I want a relationship, I want a real girlfriend…but there's only one that will make me happy."

"She has a boyfriend."

"I'll get around that."

He got out of Paris's bed and put clothes on hoping when he went out into the hall he'd see Rory there and he'd get a chance to apologize. He was still drunk so he didn't care what he might say to her. Rory was walking back to the room when she saw Tristan walking out. She was starting to believe that he'd changed, but not after realizing it was him in Paris's bed only a little while before.

"Rory…hi," he said nervously.

"Tristan."

"Wow, why so cold?"

"I was trying to sleep because I have class tomorrow…I hear my roommate having drunken sex – you walked out of my room. Put the pieces together."

"Note to self: never wake up a Gilmore."

"Goodbye, Tristan."

"But, Rory…"

"What Tristan?" she snapped, "what can be so important that you won't let me go back to sleep so that I can go to my class in the morning."

"I love you, Rory Gilmore," he stuttered, "you are the most beautiful girl I've ever met and I love you."

Rory froze then realized how drunk he was, he didn't know what he was saying. She told him that he was drunk and needed to go back to his room then went back to bed. She couldn't fall asleep though, Tristan's words played over and over in her head. He was definitely too drunk to realize what she was saying; besides she loved Brian and Brian loved her. She finally fell asleep and had a dream about Brian – about the two of them together about to have sex when suddenly Brian's brown hair turned blonde and she saw the face of Tristan DuGrey…Rory then woke up screaming.


	11. Startling Realizations

**AN:** I know, I 'm a horrible updater, I need to work on that and since I'm procrastinating some homework now, I'm going to add a chapter to all my stories.

Rory's screams distracted Paris's daydream about Tristan so she ran over to Rory's bed. She tried to comfort her, but Rory was too shaken. Besides that Paris was the reason everything happened; she was the only who brought Tristan back drunk and woke Rory up with their drunken sex. She didn't want to tell Paris or anyone else what the dream way about…the only person she wanted to see was Brian. He was the only one who could make her feel better.

It was 5am, Brian wasn't going to be awake and even if he loved her, he wasn't going to welcome her visit. She told Paris that she was fine and pretended to go back to sleep until her alarm went off. Rory kept telling herself that Tristan was drunk and that he what he said was the reason she had that dream; there were no feelings between the two of them. Tristan had helped Rory get through a hard time with Brian, but that was fixed – everything was better.

Rory went to class and tried her hardest to pay attention to everything. It didn't help that Tristan was in the room. The way he had his head in his hands and couldn't keep his eyes open she was guessing if he wasn't still a little drunk then maybe he didn't remember anything from the night before. She focused her attention on Brian and all thoughts about how perfect he is and a smile came to her face.

Those same thoughts of Tristan not remembering were going through Paris's head. Tristan told her right after that he regretted what happened between them and if he didn't remember it would hurt even more. If he remembered then Paris could believe that their night meant something no matter how drunk they both were. Tristan was right that Paris wasn't as intoxicated as he was and that she knew exactly what she was doing the entire time. She just hoped he didn't realize that it was all because she wanted him for longer than he'd ever even realize.

Tristan had a headache like he couldn't believe, but still went to class that morning because he wanted to see Rory. He remembered seeing her the night before but not talking to her…he was afraid that he said something that would ruin everything. Not that there was anything to ruin anyway, Rory had Brian back and Tristan could tell how happy she was with that. He wanted her to be happy; it would just be so much better if she could be happier with him.

He decided that he would try to talk to her after class…his head wasn't agreeing, but Rory was worth anything. Tristan took a glance over to her and saw that she was paying attention and had a smile, but there was still a confused look in her eyes. He wanted to know everything she was thinking; he wanted to be the person she wanted to see all the time. Class was over and Tristan walked slowly next to Rory trying to speak when his head was spinning.

"Hey…"

"Hey Tristan."

"Look…I'm sorry if I did anything last night – I was upset and took the stupid way out and got trashed. I honestly don't remember much except seeing you and I want to apologize."

"You slept with Paris last night," she said coldly.

"I what!" he was genuinely surprised, but that explained why he was near Rory's room. He couldn't believe that he slept with Paris after swearing all this time that he wouldn't. That was the effects of too much alcohol on a college student – doing something stupid.

Rory saw that Tristan was genuinely shocked so she wasn't going to bring up what he said to her the night before. Things were going okay between them and by okay it meant that she didn't want to kill him every time she saw him. The two continued to walk back to the dorms and continued to converse.

"So, did you miss me since I left military school?"

"Do you recall us not remembering each other?"

"Well yeah, but there had to be a reason for that."

Tristan's reason was he didn't want to deal with that fact that he had fallen so hard for a girl that he couldn't have. His reason for forgetting was repressing every memory of Rory, but once one came back they all did – every single memory from the day they met to the day he almost kissed her goodbye.

"I had Dean when you left…you spent your last nights at home harassing him in Stars Hollow."

"What ever happened with him – I know about the recent things, but before that…he was married?"

"We broke up when Luke's nephew Jess came along – I kissed Jess and ran away and hid it from everyone especially Dean."

"So you always run away after a kiss?"

Rory froze at that remembering the night at the piano once again – remembering their first kiss. Before Rory said a word, Brian came up behind her and put his arms around her. He exchanged greetings with Tristan before Tristan couldn't take it anymore and walked away.

"So how was your night?"

"Don't ask."

"What happened?" Brian pursued.

"Paris went out and got drunk and brought back Tristan and they proceeded to have drunken sex while I was sleeping, then I saw the drunken Tristan in the hall and he told me that he loves me. He doesn't remember this now because he was so drunk and I don't know, it's been bothering me all day. I didn't talk much to Paris when I woke up from my bad dream about you becoming Tristan."

"Wow, that's a lot. Did you ever think that maybe you have a thing for Tristan?"

"What? No, I love you Brian."

"I'm not doubting how you feel about me, Rory, I'm wondering how you feel about him."

She looked Brian in the eye and saw that he was serious. He was worried about whether or not Rory had feelings for Tristan; she was convinced that she didn't. She had been trying to convince herself that Tristan was a jerk in high school and nothing more than that now. Brian took Rory's hand and silently walked her back to her room where he kissed her goodbye and left her to herself.

Rory sat on her bed and started thinking hard about what Brian said. She didn't think she liked Tristan then she remembered being in his arms that Monday night…she felt comfortable. Maybe she wasn't feeling like Tristan was a brother, but the guy that she wanted to be with.

Tristan walked into his room with mixed feelings – he'd spent time with Rory and they were actually talking, but then Brian came and he couldn't stay anymore. His thoughts were interrupted when he looked over at Alex typing frantically at his computer.

"What's up with you?"

"I have an idea to get back at Paris."

"I have a feeling I might have hurt her more than you want to – unintentionally."

"How?"

"According to Rory, I slept with Paris last night – Paris wasn't nearly as drunk as I was."

"You know she's got it bad for you – that's why she slept with me."

"Yeah, I know."

"I have a plan that will make her feel as bad as she made me feel. I actually fucking liked her."

"I know, man."

That was the end of the boys' conversation; Tristan went back to his thoughts about Rory.

Rory called Lane; it was the only thing she could think of. Luckily Lane was around to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Lane, I have a problem."

"Uh oh, more Brian related?"

"Sort of … Brian thinks that Tristan likes me."

"No kidding."

"He also thinks that I like Tristan."

"Whoa – what do you think?"

"I think I might."

That was the first time that Rory had said it out loud; she didn't want to admit it but to Lane she could. Lane suggested a way for Rory to see how she really felt…there was one way to determine if her feelings for Tristan were real. If the test was positive then Brian would find out, if it was negative the whole thing would remain a secret.

Rory picked up the phone and dialed Tristan's extension hoping he'd be alone in his room. He told her that Alex was about to leave for class and that she could come over if she wanted to.

Tristan was confused by Rory's call but would do anything to see her. He waited for the knock on his door and only cared about seeing her, being near her. The knock came and he let her in surprised by her action.

Rory shut the door and stood in front of Tristan's bed motioning for him to come closer. When he was directly in front of her she put her arms around his neck and kissed him – there was nothing gentle about the kiss. She pushed her lips against his and slightly parted them giving him the okay for his tongue to explore. Tristan was in a state of bliss that he had never imagined before and little did he know, Rory felt exactly the same.


	12. The Truth Comes Out

**AN:** I've had some time on my hands so I'm getting better with the updating thing; I just need to catch up on some reading. I have outlined the next chapter to all three of my stories; it's just a matter of putting them together. Thanks for all the great reviews and I hope that there are more to come.

Tristan stared at the girl standing in front of him, but thing were a little blurry. He was in such a daze after what was most likely the greatest moment of his life. The kiss at the piano was suddenly nothing; Rory Gilmore just showed up at his dorm and kissed him. Thoughts of why she did it didn't cross his mind, but Tristan honestly didn't care. Nothing could possibly make him happier at that moment. Before Tristan had a chance to react, Rory ran. It was nothing he hadn't seen before; she had a thing about running – except this time the kiss wasn't mutually started…it was all Rory's doing.

_What did I just do?_ She thought to herself as she noticed the look of shock in Tristan's eyes. Rory had taken the advice she was given and now didn't know how to react. She still had Brian and she didn't know how he would deal with her kissing another guy – especially not if it's a kiss like that. She did the only thing she knew how to do – the same thing she'd done last time she shared a kiss with Tristan, her first kiss from Dean, and her first kiss with Jess…Rory ran.

Once she got back to her own room, Rory collapsed onto her bed and was staring at the ceiling. She was trying to figure out what she just did and how to act now that it was over. There was a phone call that needed to be made now that Rory made the daring move…Lane was the one who told her to do it. She'd said it was the only way to make Rory realize exactly how she was feeling.

"Hello?"

"Zach, it's Rory…is Lane there?"

"Umm, hold on…"

Rory waited and heard sounds in the background; most likely it was Zach trying to process the thought. Finally Lane picked up the phone anxious to know what happened.

"I did it, everything you said."

"And…?"

"I don't know; I honestly don't know what to do. I have to find Brian, I have to do something. Lane, I'm so confused."

"That's not what was supposed to happen. You were supposed to know."

The girls continued to talk for a little while, but Rory would space out every so often thinking about kissing Tristan. It wasn't like it was the first time their lips had every met, but the first time – that was all that happened.

Tristan finally moved away from the door and his roommate was still sleeping behind him. Alex had the chance to witness history, but slept through it. Tristan couldn't wait to tell the world, but he didn't know exactly what to tell. Alex was going to be the first to know if he'd ever wake up.

What seemed like an hour later, Alex finally started tossing and turning and then looked at Tristan's smiling face. He didn't know what happened especially after the anger earlier and how upset Tristan had been about his precious Rory.

"Dude, what's up with the smile?"

"Rory kissed me."

"What?"

"She came over here and I answered the door and she kissed me. Then she ran away."

"Why'd she run away?"

"I don't know. The first time we kissed she ran away too – I thought I bit her lip, but she said it had to do with Dean. Maybe this time it has to do with that boyfriend of hers."

Alex was happy, not only because Tristan was, but because it meant Paris was going to get what was coming to her. Paris was going to realize that Tristan was out of her reach and her best friend was going to be the one he chose. He couldn't help but feel bad for Rory because he could tell that Paris was a very vengeful and spiteful person. Then he remembered that Rory did have a boyfriend and everything might not be as it seemed.

Tristan and Alex continued to talk about the kiss and try to analyze why Rory did it. It was the first time they really bonded over a girl; it was the first time Tristan had bonded over a girl at all because usually he was too busy sleeping with the one that everyone else wanted. They had no idea that Paris was on her way over to find out if Tristan remembered what happened the other night or not. She heard everything about the kiss and didn't know how to react. Something had changed in Rory that night with Dean; it was so unlike her to randomly kiss someone – especially someone she wasn't too fond of in the past.

Paris didn't want them to know that she heard anything so she just turned around and walked away. She knew that Tristan would push her to forget that she knew anything; she knew that he would make her feel horrible. Then Paris realized that with Rory's conscience she was going to want to tell Brian and that couldn't happen.

Back in her room, Rory was attempting to do homework while still wondering what to do about Tristan. Her homework turned into a pro/con list about telling Brian about it. He was her boyfriend and he deserved to know that Rory kissed another guy. But what if he asked why she did it? She did it to see if he was right…to see if she had any feelings for Tristan. The only problem was, Rory wasn't sure how the kiss was.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Paris coming into the room. Paris too was questioning what to do about the situation. She didn't know if it would be a good idea to let Rory know that she overheard; then again Rory would know that Tristan was talking about it and hopefully use that as something against him. Paris Geller was going to stop at nothing to get Tristan for herself.

"So, Rory, I hear you had quite the afternoon."

"What, where'd you hear something? What did you hear?" she got defensive.

"Just that your mouth likes to travel."

"What? Paris, tell me what you heard!"

"You were making out with Tristan."

"Where'd you hear that from?"

"Around?"

That wasn't a lie, no one told Paris about the kiss – she found out by hanging _around_ outside Tristan and Alex's room. Rory was getting very defensive, so Paris thought that maybe the kiss didn't mean anything to Rory at all.

"I don't know what to do, Paris. I think I should tell Brian."

"That's not necessary if it didn't mean anything."

"He deserves to know, he is my boyfriend."

"But is it worth hurting anything? You guys are doing so well and this will crush him."

Rory was starting to wonder why Paris was so against her telling Brian. He had the right to know, he needed to know she cheated on him. She did the same thing as Dean did to Lindsey – she didn't care if it was on a lower scale … it was something that needed to be done. Paris wasn't going to be able to talk her out of this one. She was so confused about everything especially how the kiss made her feel.

Even though Paris kept telling her not to, Rory called Brian and invited him over. She wanted to tell him everything face to face … it was only 10 minutes later that he showed up at her door. She greeted him with a soft "hey" and a kiss both of which he returned.

"We have to talk," she just came out with it.

"Okay…"

Rory started to talk but Paris would come in the room with something different every time whether it is asking if they want a snack or a homework question.

"Paris! I'm trying to talk here, can I PLEASE have a few seconds."

Brian could tell that Rory was getting upset so he suggested the two of them go for some coffee. She was a Gilmore; coffee was something that she could never give up. The two walked hand in hand and Rory felt like things were right, but she couldn't help feeling a little weird. They got to the coffee shop and sat down, Rory started to shake.

"Rory, what's wrong?"

She just came out with it, "I kissed Tristan."

Then she finally admitted to herself, _and I like it…and him._


	13. Time to Think

AN: I know, it's been a while, but I should be back and keeping up now

Brian looked at Rory and saw a look in her eyes that he'd never seen before. She looked like a child who just lost her puppy – she was about to cry but something was holding on. He didn't know what to do about the situation, Rory kissed Tristan and that was all there was to it.

"How could you…"

"I don't know, Brian. I just had this impulse and it happened; Lane said it was the only way I would know how I feel."

"So you've been having feelings for Tristan?"

"I didn't think about it until you said it yesterday, you got me thinking"

"I pushed you into his arms."

"It's not like that."

"Then what?"

Rory had nothing to say, she had no way to defend herself anymore. She wasn't sure if Brian really pushed her into Tristan's arms or if the feeling had always been there. Rory looked at Brian, she was truly sorry, but there was nothing she could do to fix anything. She wasn't sure if she wanted to be with Tristan, but she couldn't lie to Brian about how she felt. Their relationship was going to have to end…again. Rory wanted to be with Brian, but not enough to cover the feelings she was discovering for Tristan.

Brian didn't want to sit there and look at her anymore, so he made the first move to stand up and walk out of the coffee shop. Rory watched him walk away, but knew there was nothing she could do to get him to stop. She wanted him to stay; she wanted him to tell her that everything was going to be fine between them. The truth was nothing was going to be right between them with the new feelings she'd realized that she had for Tristan.

Walking back to her room, Rory called Lorelai to tell her everything. Lorelai didn't know about the kiss with Tristan or about Tristan drunkenly declaring his love for her. Lorelai doesn't know how Rory's love life was falling apart…again.

"Hello daughter of mine," Lorelai answered her cell phone.

"Mom…" Rory said, making her tears obvious.

"What's wrong, honey?"

"My mistake with Dean is going to ruin my life forever."

"What?"

"If I never slept with Dean, Brian and I never would have broken up the first time then I wouldn't have fallen asleep in Tristan's room then when Tristan told me he loved me when he was drunk it wouldn't have affected me and I wouldn't have kissed him therefore losing Brian again," she said so fast only Lorelai could understand.

"You're going to have to elaborate on that, sweetie."

Rory slowly explained how all of the events linked together. She told her mom about falling asleep with Tristan and how he comforted her after the first break up. Then she continued to Tristan's drunken confession and the conversation with Lane leading to the kiss with Tristan. In Rory's head everything was going back to the one mistake that she made with Dean. It was going to haunt her for the rest of her life; everything was leading back to Dean. Lorelai suggested that Rory come home for the weekend so that she could think over what happened with Brian and figure out what she wanted to do about Tristan.

Rory spent the entire week avoiding everyone, including Paris. The two of them would sit in the room in complete silence. On occasion, Paris would attempt to start a conversation but it never went beyond classes. Paris too was upset because she knew that the thinking would end up with Rory in Tristan's arms. It was like high school all over again.

Finally the weekend came and Rory got in her car and headed back to Stars Hollow to spend time with her mother. When she got home, the house was empty – Rory figured that Lorelai was at the Dragonfly and sat down on the couch. Being alone made everything completely set in; she realized that she no longer had Brian and that she was okay with that. Rory thought about Tristan and the past they had. Nothing was good about that past – he was always a jerk; he constantly mocked her and called her Mary. Why was she falling for him? Then she remembered that night they spent talking after the first break up with Brian, Tristan made her feel comfortable and he had an opportunity to take advantage but didn't. Tristan wasn't who he was in Chilton; he had grown up in military school. Rory realized that she was very much attracted to Tristan's ability to banter.

Lorelai arrived home and found Rory on the couch crying. She walked over and comforted her daughter without asking what was wrong. Everything was coming back on Rory and she was finally hit with it all at once. Thinking always led to more crying and Lorelai knew that and just held Rory as she cried. Luke had been upset that Lorelai cancelled on him for that night, but he knew that being with Rory was more important.

"I rented a funny movie," Lorelai volunteered and Rory smiled when she saw _American Beauty_ in her mother's hand.

"That's not supposed to be a comedy."

"It is when we watch it."

Rory smiled and let herself get lost in the world she grew up in. She was just sitting around watching a movie with her mother laughing at parts that aren't supposed to be funny. As the movie neared an ending, Rory was falling asleep on the couch. Lorelai didn't want to disturb her so she left her daughter there and headed up the stairs to bed. Lorelai started thinking about ways to make Saturday a day that Rory wouldn't forget and a day to make Rory feel better about everything.

Paris was lying awake that Friday night coming up with plans of her own. She realized that by the end of the weekend she was going have even less of a chance with Tristan. She really did feel like she was back in high school competing with the same girl for the attention of the same boy. Things were changed though, Rory was her best friend and Tristan was a figure of the past. This was a past that was coming back. Paris's feelings for Tristan never died even through her relationships with both Jamie and Professor Fleming. She knew that he wasn't the same bad boy he was in high school, but they grew up together.

The next brilliant idea to pop into Paris's head was to call Tristan and invite him over. That was even if she wasn't going to get the boy of her dreams, at least she would be around him. Luckily, Tristan was around when Paris called and agreed to come over. Of course in the back of his mind he thought Rory might be around, but he didn't let on to Paris about that.

Only a half hour later, Tristan was at the door of Paris and Rory's room and Paris let him in. He started the conversation with the typical "hey, how are you" and waited a little while before asking the question that even Paris knew was on his mind.

"Where's Rory?"

"She went home for the weekend…" Paris started.

"Oh," Tristan responded almost disappointed.

"…to see Dean," she added.

The expression on Tristan's face dropped. He couldn't believe that Rory was going to see Dean after all that went on. They hadn't spoken since the kiss and it was very obvious to Tristan that Rory had been avoiding him. He didn't know what to do – he figured that she was off reconciling with Dean since he heard about her break up with Brian. He was kicking himself for thinking even for a minute that he had something to do with Rory's single status.

Tristan didn't want his entire weekend to be ruined by thoughts of Rory so he allowed Paris to pick something for them to do. She chose a movie and Tristan opted to sit at the desk chair nervous of what Paris would do otherwise. He didn't want to lead her on; in fact he'd made it quite obvious that he wanted to be nothing more than friends with Paris.

The two started talking about the past and Tristan hoped that Paris would realize that they've always been good friends. He told her that once after the only date they'd ever go on. Just friends.

After spending Saturday with Lorelai, Rory was ready to go back to school. She had everything figured out…or so she thought. She was going to tell Tristan that she did have feelings for him and maybe they could start something slowly. She didn't want to rush into another relationship, but she knew that something was going to happen between her and Tristan.

She got back to Yale Saturday night and found Paris in their room getting ready to go out. The two exchanged small talk and Rory realized that she was going to have to talk to Paris sooner or later.

"Brian and I aren't together anymore."

"So I gathered."

"Look, Paris, I don't like this not talking between us."

"I'm sorry, Rory, I'm just preoccupied."

Rory didn't want to bother Paris anymore so she left the room with a mission in mind. She headed across campus to where Tristan was living. It was time to talk to him and let him know what she'd thought about when she was home. She hadn't spoken a word to him since the night they kissed, though she was sure he'd heard about the break up. She knocked at the door and found Tristan alone in his room.

"What do you want?"

"I can't to talk to you, Tristan. I've been doing a lot of thinking…"

"And you're back with Dean."

"What! Tristan…"

"I heard all about it," he didn't let her finish her sentence, "you come over here and kiss me then run back home to bag boy. I thought that maybe there could be something between us, Rory. I thought that I proved to you that I wasn't the immature boy that I was back in high school and that maybe you should give me a chance. Then I find out that right after that kiss you broke up with Brian and I was given this hope until I heard you were home to get back with Dean. I thought he'd hurt you enough, I wanted to prove to you that I wouldn't hurt you like that. I guess I was wrong, maybe you're not my Mary."

He closed the door and fell onto his bed. He had just told off the girl that meant the world to him and didn't bother to hear her side of the story. He didn't want to hear anything; she was going to go back to the guy that broke her heart so many times before and he was going to be left behind as always.

Rory stared at the door for a few minutes before breaking down and crying. She didn't know what had just happened. She thought that something was going to happen between her and Tristan; that was why she came back. She wanted things to go slowly, but she thought at least that would mean she'd get to be with him and maybe things would finally be better. She didn't know where he got that idea that she went home to see Dean not that she went home to figure out all of the thoughts jumbled in her head.

There was only one thing that Rory thought of to do that night…find Paris. Or at least the party that Paris was at. After all she met Brian at a party and she was reacquainted with Tristan because he was at that same party. Rory didn't find the party Paris was at, but she did find one with a few full kegs. After four beers within the first 45 minutes, Rory was pretty toasted. A girl her size with that little drinking experience got drunk pretty quickly. She shuffled through her bag for her cell phone and dialed Tristan's number. After the phone rang a few times she heard a click; he'd picked up and hung up on her.

After that Rory headed over to Tristan's room. She was drunk enough to say everything that she was thinking. Tristan answered the door after Rory's incessant knocking was enough for an RA to see the drunk girl in the hallway.

"Tristan, I like you. I didn't go home to see Dean; I went home because I like you and wanted to think. I guess you don't like me though, but beer does and I will date beer instead of you."

Tristan looked at Rory and took her in his room. She was too drunk to know what she was saying. He carried her into the room and put her on his bed – by the time he closed the door, Rory had passed out. Tristan looked at her and had no idea what was going to happen in the morning.


	14. In the End

**AN:** I know that I suck at updating and that I started this story a year and a half ago, but this will be the last chapter and the story is finally coming to an end. Thanks to everyone who read it along with my other stories and I hope that if I keep writing (which I plan to do) that you will all keep reading.

hr 

Rory wakes up the next morning and looks around; she sees a familiar room but has no idea where she is. There is nobody in the bed with her and she is fully clothed, but there is no one in the other bed either. She listens closely and hears fingers typing softly on the other side of the room so she sits up. Rory sees Tristan sitting there, not looking at her or even near her. He doesn't even want to acknowledge that Rory is there, that Rory once again slept in his bed drunk.

"Tristan? What happened last night?"

"You were drunk and came here; I couldn't send you back to your room. But now that you're awake, it's time for you to go home."

He was distant and cold, a voice that Rory had never heard him use before. She looked at him and saw something unfamiliar in his eyes. He looked hurt, but she didn't know why – Rory couldn't remember anything from the night before after getting to that party. She didn't know how she ended up at Tristan's door or what she said to him to make him angry. She remembered the fight from the day before when he told her that she went home to get back with Dean. Where would he get an idea like that? Did she tell him something about Dean when she was drunk? Did she confirm that she was back with Dean even if it was the farthest thing from the truth?

It was becoming more obvious every minute that Tristan did not want Rory in his room so she escorted herself out and walked across campus back to her own room. When she got there she needed to lay down because the hangover was starting to catch up with her. She must've drunk more than the four beers that she remembered in order for her head to be pounding the way it was. Before lying down, Rory took a nice, warm shower to try to fix things, but that didn't work. She went to her bed and passed out for a while trying to figure out how to fix things with Tristan.

Tristan was in his room staring at his unmade bed where Rory had slept the night before. He was still so angry at her for kissing him and then running back to Dean. But then he thought about what she told him in her drunken stupor – before the part about loving beer. She said that she liked him, but why would Paris lie to him? Paris always seemed to supportive of Tristan's feelings and put her own feelings for him aside. At least that was what Tristan thought; he could never believe that Paris was trying to sabotage the one thing that meant everything to him. Tristan was tired to being pushed aside for Dean when Dean surely proved that he was not going to make Rory happy. There had to be something that he could do to get the girl and pushing her away was not going to do it. Sleeping on the floor the entire night had made Tristan's mind and body both stiff…he thought a nap would help to feel better.

Paris woke up to find her roommate out cold and thought that maybe she did come back at some point during the night in order to be that sound asleep at noon. She didn't want to think that Rory had been in Tristan's bed all night. Paris decided to give her roommate some time to sleep so she showered then went for a walk around campus. She stopped in the library to pick up a few books for a paper that she had to write when she ran into a guy that she had never seen before. The two of them reached for the same book at the same time.

"I kind of need that for a paper," Paris started.

"So do I, so it seems we have quite the dilemma here."

"I don't do fun and games so hand over the book."

"You're a bit tense; maybe we can share the book."

"Is that your way of flirting with me? Because I don't catch on to that type of thing."

"Maybe it was, but I didn't catch your name."

"Paris Geller…and you?"

"Kevin Goldman."

"Well, Kevin, if you let me have the book, we can both be on their way."

"Or since the book is in my hand, you can meet me back here at say 8 tonight and we can share it."

"Fine. If you're not here at 8, I will hunt you down and take the book."

Paris didn't know why she accepted this meeting with Kevin, but she needed to do something to get her mind off of Tristan. Kevin seemed interesting and his last name sounded Jewish, so someone her own Jewish family would approve of. If Kevin proved to be boring and dumb, she could always use him as another ploy to get Tristan. Everything in Paris Geller's mind went back to Tristan…just as it had back in her days at Chilton.

She walked out of the library and started to head back to her room with all of the books except for the one that Kevin had when she ran into Alex. He was looking good that morning, but a little lost around campus. It seemed like he didn't want to go back to his room, but couldn't find any other way to occupy his time.

"Good morning, Paris."

"Hi Alex, how are you?"

"A little tired, I went to go to bed last night and found your roommate drunk in Tristan's bed and I didn't know where he was."

"But Rory was in her own bed when I woke up this morning."

"Then she must've left. She was in Tristan's bed last night."

Paris was angry, she let her guard down and now Rory was getting what she had wanted. She said goodbye to Alex and stormed back to her own room to find that Rory wasn't there. Maybe she had imagined the sleeping girl this morning when she woke up.

Back in Stars Hollow, Lorelai woke up Monday morning and got ready to head to Luke's for coffee and then over to the Dragonfly. She walked into Luke's and saw Lane and Zach arguing over free breakfast and Caesar shuffling in the kitchen to get all of the orders out in a timely fashion. Everything was the same as normal so Lorelai took her regular seat at the end of the counter closest to the cash register and waited for Luke.

"Good morning, Lorelai," he said with a kiss.

"Coffee, please?"

"How much have you had already this morning?"

"I don't know, one or two…or five. I lost count, but none of it is as good as your coffee, Luke."

"You don't need my coffee, you've had enough. Don't you know coffee can damage so many different parts of you?"

"And I know you want all my _parts_ to be in perfect condition."

To keep himself from replying to Lorelai's last comment, Luke gives in and pours her a cup of coffee. Then she made a face at him which he responded to by handing her a blueberry muffin which Lorelai proceeded to eat. She still had another half hour until she had to go to the inn for work, so the two started to converse.

"So, how's Rory? Is something wrong? Is that why she came home for the weekend?"

Lorelai loved how fatherly Luke sounded when he talked about Rory. He had always been this way, probably since he raised her more than Christopher did.

"She just had boy issues, no big deal. She'll be fine, I think she made the right decision," but Lorelai wasn't sure which decision was right either.

"That's good. If any boy hurts her, I will hurt him."

"We all remember the headlock you put Dean in the first time he broke her heart."

"Too bad it didn't teach him his lesson."

Lorelai laughed as the two continued to discuss how well Rory was doing at Yale and living with Paris. Luke tended to avoid the subject of boys except to be protective of Rory; he really was like a father.

When Rory woke up, she looked at the clock and it was after three. She had thrown away the day like a typical college student who went to a party the night before. But she still hadn't figured out how she ended up in Tristan's bed that morning or what she had said to him the night before when she was drunk. It wasn't like Rory to get so drunk that she doesn't remember what she did or that she woke up in someone else's bed that she didn't know she went to. She also started to wonder if she had done anything with Tristan the night before even though he was so cold to her that morning.

After showering again and actually becoming human, Rory decided to walk back across campus over to Tristan's room. She needed to talk to him and find out what happened otherwise it was going to drive her crazy. Rory stood outside of Tristan's door for a while, but couldn't get the courage to knock. He was so angry this morning, and that look in his eyes – a look of pain that she hadn't seen. While she was pacing outside the door, Alex was heading back to the room. He noticed Rory standing there and asked if she wanted to go in – after thinking for a few seconds, she entered the room and saw Tristan sitting on his bed with a book.

"Tristan, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"I don't really want to talk right now."

"But I do, and I think it's really important."

"What part of me not wanting to talk do you not understand? You're a smart girl, Rory, figure it out."

"I don't know why you don't want to talk to me, Tristan. I really don't know what I did – and I don't remember getting here last night. You yelled at me yesterday, something about Dean and I don't know why. Please, fill me in on what I did."

Tristan saw the tears starting to form in Rory's eyes and decided to take a walk with her; the two of them could clear up everything. He wanted to tell her how much it hurt to hear that she was back with Dean. Maybe he could grow a pair and tell her how much he cares about her and how badly he wants to be with her. Then she could understand what she did to him by leading him on like that.

"You wanted to talk, so talk," Tristan started.

"I went home for the weekend because I really needed to think. Lane told me that if I wanted to figure out how I felt about you that I would have to kiss you, so I did. Brian and I broke up because he thought I had feelings for you. I honestly didn't know how I felt about anyone. But Dean…"

"He'll always have your heart; he was your first love and your first time, I get it – I don't see why you needed to talk to me about that."

"You're wrong, Tristan. For once you're not being egotistical and for once you are the reason. I fell for you, I fell hard and that kiss scared me – I didn't know what to do about these feelings. I needed to be home with my mom, she always helps me."

"Then why did Paris tell me that you went home to get back with Dean."

"Paris? I haven't talked to her in a week. She didn't know anything."

"Really? She seemed to know when I went over there the other night."

"Paris likes you, she wants you."

"I know that, I'm irresistible," the smirk finally returned.

"Wait a minute, I think I finally get it – …"

"Get what?"

"This was all Paris – telling you that I was going to see Dean and all of the encounters since we ran into each other at that party. Paris was trying to get you for herself and therefore…"

"Ruining every chance I had at finally getting you."

"But she didn't this time. Tristan, I really do like you, more than I like Brian and of course more than Dean."

"Does this mean we have a chance?"

"If you want it to mean that."

Words couldn't express Tristan's response so he pulled Rory closer and put his mouth to his. The kiss got deeper and deeper as Rory collapsed into Tristan's embrace. For the first time in a while, everything felt perfect. But the perfection couldn't last too long because Rory had a roommate to deal with. She had stopped Paris from ruining something that could be amazing, and Rory won – she had Tristan.

Luke had decided to cook Lorelai dinner that night because she'd called from the Inn to tell him about her stressful day. He had a surprise for the woman he'd been in love with for years. Rachel and Nicole both saw it so long before Luke ever admitted it. Everyone knew that Luke and Lorelai were meant to be together and now they were and he wanted to solidify everything.

Dinner was cooked and the two ate over a candlelit table. After dinner Luke kissed Lorelai passionately and they started to walk over to the bed. Lorelai sat down and instead of following her, Luke got down on one knee. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a beautiful diamond. Lorelai looked at and without a work pulled Luke closer. The two of them made the sweetest love that night and immediately after Lorelai called her daughter. Rory's voicemail picked up and Lorelai said six words, hoping Rory would call back soon.

"I'm going to be Mrs. Luke Danes."

Rory returned to her room to see Paris for the first time that day. She was ready to explode, this wasn't the first time Paris had ruined something but it was all for the same basic reasons. She wanted to scream – but she needed to stay calm. This was years of tension and it was finally time to break it. Everything from Chilton that had kept the two from being friends had come out in the past few months with the return of Tristan. He'd been everything to make them hate each other then and now he had done it again.

"Rory, I haven't seen you all day. How have you been? I heard you didn't come back last night."

"I got a little drunk and luckily waking up in Tristan's bed I was able to fix everything between us. He's my boyfriend now by the way"

Paris looked at Rory with a hurt look, a look of defeat. Her greatest conquest was officially lost because Tristan got the only girl that he wanted as more than a one night stand. Her dreams of being with Tristan DuGrey were going to have to fade away – Rory was her roommate and best friend and from the look in her eyes, Paris could tell there was more conversation to come.

"Why did you try to ruin everything Paris? Why did you tell him that I was getting back with Dean when you knew that wouldn't happen? C'mon Paris, you always have a come back and you always have something to say – so say something. What did I do to make you want to stop me from being happy?"

"You had what I didn't! Tristan's wanted you since we were at Chilton, he never wanted me. You made him date me and he only did it because you said to but even on the date he was mentioning you. It sucks to be second to the one person that I always wanted. I never get what I want."

"Sabotaging my relationship with his wasn't going to help you at all, Paris. He knew you wanted him, if he wanted you he would've done something."

"I was trying to make him, Rory, don't you get it. Boys don't swarm to me as they do to you. I'm not perfect like you."

"I'm not perfect, Paris."

"You are to Tristan and that's all that's ever mattered. I had a crush on him for twice as long as you've even known him. It hurts, Rory, it really does."

"I'm sorry, Paris, but we are together now."

Paris didn't want to say anything in response, she needed to get out. She knew that she and Rory would patch things up, but they each needed to be alone. Rory and Tristan were together – it was inevitable. Paris thought that maybe she would give this new guy, Kevin, a chance. He could be a replacement – he was already able to keep up with her…

**THE END**


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